Little Deidara
by 17stepsdown
Summary: After finding a child passed out alone in the middle of the road, Pein decides Sasori is to raise him to be a loyal member of the Akatsuki. However, taking care of a child is hard, especially when it comes to raising a bratty boy named Deidara who would rather play with explosives than sit still. Sasori begins to wonder what he's gotten himself into. Will be edited constantly.
1. Stray Puppies and Kittens

**A/N: Hi there! It's me! 17stepsdown! It's nice to meet you! First off, a disclaimer as Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. This story was inspired by 'Raising Deidara' written by Miko Takahashi and I hope you check out her Fanfiction as well! Please review if you'd like!**

* * *

_BOOM_

Birds in the vicinity of the blast immediately retreated. Escaping the fiery blaze that erupted from the undergrowth of the damp forest. It was mid-day but there was no sun, replacing the warmth of the day star were dark clouds, occasionally raging with thunder. The rain poured hard onto the earth. Soothing the scar that had blown it's way into the forest. The tiny fires that started were quickly vanquished, leaving only the blackened brown scorched skin of the land visible for all things air born to see.

You'd think that nothing had survived such an event.

The nearby bushes ruffled, out of it's damp greenery revealed a small blonde child wearing a green robe. His eyes were wide in fear, terror, gasping for breath as he quickly leaned against a tree for support. After a few moments spent resting, he limped forward towards the road ahead. Thinking that he could flag someone down from the road to help him. His lungs ached, he felt so tired...his mind was hazy from the previous events that happened that day.

He was tired...so tired...

_Master..._

The world faded to black.

* * *

**Stray Puppies and Kittens**

(Naruto Shippuden OST 1 Track 10 "Akatsuki")

"What is the meaning of this?" Konan looked at Sasori with a serious expression. In his arms was a small child with long blonde hair. The child wasn't awake, simply lying in Sasori's arms in the most relaxed expression. The puppeteer gave him a glance and looked back up at Konan.

"I found him passed out alone on the way here."

"The Akatsuki are not a foster organization! We're S-class missing-nin! This brat will serve only to hinder us!" Konan scolded, angrily glaring at the other.

"I'll make sure he doesn't." Sasori replied calmly.

"Sasori! What do you plan to do with him anyway? Return him to whoever's responsible!" The Akatsuki member said harshly and pointed towards the entrance, gesturing for Sasori to return him to wherever he found the stray. Currently, they were in Ame, the puppeteer wasn't as stupid as keeping secrets like these from the Akatsuki. The kid was one he found back in the land of the Earth, the child was unconscious by the road, looked a little beat up but no wounds.

"Like I said, he's alone. I'll take care of him, I'll make sure he won't serve as hindrance."

"That's not enough Sasori! What if Pein sends you on a solo mission? What will the boy do?"

"I'll have Tobi take care of him, Tobi's good with kids...I think."

"Zetsu travels with Tobi, what if he eats him?"

"Zetsu eats _dead_ corpses!"

"What if he gets sick?"

"I'll create a medicine and give it to him!"

"What if you get captured? Or killed? Can you even take care of a child?!"

"I know enough! I just..." Sasori trailed off.

"And when he grows up? What if he rebels? He'll give our Organization away!"

To that, Sasori had no answer for. He was silent for a few seconds, looking down and thinking things over, he didn't want to have to give up the child. Konan had a point, eventually the boy will want to have friends and play with other kids, what he blabbers to them about the organization? That would surely spell trouble and Sasori wasn't sure whether or not he was ready to take responsibility. He'd have to kill everyone who heard of what the child would say and killing would probably be traumatizing for the child. A small movement snapped Sasori out of his thoughts as he noticed the blonde child snuggle closer to his chest, making a small wine, he was beginning to lighten in his sleep. His heart sank to think he would be cornered into giving the innocent thing up, he didn't want to leave the boy back in the forest, he would not survive.

"Than you should train him to be loyal to our cause."

Both ninja were taken by surprise at the low voice as they both looked the same direction. It was Pein, he had arrived most likely to assess the situation, one authority figure was enough, but it'd be harder to try and persuade two. Pein was a hardened man, Sasori knew well how harsh he could really be. Pein walked towards the two and stood quietly before Sasori. He gazed down at the sleeping child, staring at his features.

"He looks to be from age five to eight, if he has potential than we should train it to suite the Akatsuki. He could be a real Akatsuki member and truly loyal to us, a valuable weapon if he's raised correctly. We have plenty of time before he hits eighteen and he looks nothing close to an eighteen year old. Age eighteen is when most people stick to their beliefs and experiences and are rarely swayed. If we can assert the a idea that the organization is something similar to a family than he will likely do as we please."

Sasori thought the idea over before finally realizing what Pein was saying. He felt relieved, there was a chance that he keep the boy and he was happy about that. However, Konan was not as peachy.

"Pein, you do realize what it takes to raise a child right? Especially one who would have enough perserverance and talent to become worthy of the Akatsuki? And what if the child does have parents? Or someone responsible for him? One single report to that person of the child travelling with another Akatsuki member could spell danger for us. I don't think it's worth it."

"And if we raise him correctly and he becomes valuable to us, than it _will _be worth it." Pein glanced at Konan, giving her a convincing and confident look. He turned back to Sasori.

"Sasori, I trust that this stray you picked up has potential. If you choose to keep him I'll check back soon and you will have to give a report of the boy's talents. I'll be looking for _special talents._ "He's going to be very fast" or "He should grow up to be determined" isn't enough. There are plenty of Shinobi out there with those traits, but the Akatsuki are different. As Kisame possesses shark skin, Zetsu has split personalities, whilst Kakuzu has many hearts. If nothing comes up in a week than you'll have to give him up. Got it?"

The puppeteer nodded silently.


	2. Deidara of Iwagakure

**Deidara of Iwagakure**

The room was lit by candlelight, Sasori currently worked on maintenance for his puppets while the rain poured heavily outside. Luckily, they got a room on the second floor so any sane child wouldn't risk jumping two floors to escape if Sasori didn't catch him first. The inn he paid for was relatively cheap but the rooms were in good shape, he didn't expect a couch or TV or anything luxurious but the simple room they got was far better than the crumbling or spiderweb infested inns he's been in before. It was standard, leaving plenty of room for his puppets and especially his large puppet, Hiruko. There were some tea cups on a table near a futon which he laid for the child, despite their first meeting, Sasori had actually not inquired on his name yet, he made a mental note that it would be one of the first things he'd ask when the child would wake up, if he didn't freak out to find himself in an unfamiliar place first. The cups steamed, filled with Green tea which he made when he noticed it was nearing the morning. A small whine from behind him was enough to make the redhead pause and put down his things. Turning around, he slowly stood up and walked over to the sleeping boy. Gently, he shook him until his eyes opened to reveal sky blue irises, however dull due to his current condition.

"Wake up, it's time to wake up, kid."

The child groaned softly and blinked a couple of times and looked around before his eyes shot up at Sasori in an alarming manner. Shocked, he quickly sat up and scooted away from the redhead in fear while shrieking.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Remember me?" He put his hands up, hoping to calm down the frightened boy. The child was breathing heavily after the mild surprise. He was silent for a moment before finally remembering the previous day's events, immediately, he leaned over and looked at the ground. To Sasori, it looked as if the boy was going to cry, since he seemed to be shaking slightly. Sasori wasn't an expert on how to raise children or how to comfort someone but he could try. Now was a good opportunity to make use of that tea he made earlier...

He stood up and took the tea with both hands. Turning back to the child, he sat down beside him and offered him the cup.

"Are you cold? Do you want some warm tea?"

The blonde kid looked up thoughtfully at Sasori who gave him a warm smile. Taking the cup of tea he stared at it for a few seconds as if to contemplate whether or not he should drink it.

"It's green tea, do you like green tea?" Sasori spoke in the the most gentle voice he could muster, talking softly trying to comfort the child.

"...I guess." The boy mumbled under his breath before lifting the cup and sipping some of it.

"My name is Sasori, remember?"

The boy was quiet, Sasori would make sure to break him out of that soon. Shy children were harder to train as he witnessed as a child himself, but they were as hard as delinquents to teach. The boy didn't seem to be a delinquent.

"What's your name?"

"...Deidara."

"Deidara...that's a good name. What's your last name?"

"...I don't have one." The child looked up at him.

"Just Deidara then?"

"Hm." The boy grunted, he wasn't very confident right now, he just didn't feel like it. Not to mention he barely knew this man, despite the fact that he brought him in. Strangers, outsiders.

"So, what were you doing in the middle of the path?"

"I was running away."

"Why were you running away?"

"Scary people were chasing me."

Sasori paused, he leaned back and began to rethink the last two day's events. He was pretty sure no one was following him after he picked up the child, and surely Pein would've alarmed him if someone had followed him to his base. Assuming they were safe, Sasori continued to talk.

"Why were they chasing you?"

"I don't know!" The boy spoke louder, seemingly angry on the subject of why. The redhead immediately knew not to inquirer further, doing so might end up in a fit.

"...What village are you from?"

"Iwagakure."

_Luckily we're not in the Rock Country. _"Do you have any family?"

"No."

"Then how did you take of yourself ?"

"The Tsuchikage took care of me."

The Tsuchikage. The strongest man in currently alive in the Rock country and Sasori was currently caring for one of his underlings. Sasori started to think hastily about what actions the Tsuchikage might take to get Deidara back. He was in no mood to start thinking about the possibility of being pursued, if the Tsuchikage really was going to search for Deidara, that would pose some big problems for not only him but all the Akatsuki.

"Do you think he's looking for you?"

The question shook up Deidara. Sasori waited for his answer but his only reply was the boy trying desperately not to cry. His small gloved hands tightened around his blanket as the tears stained the fabric.

"No..."

"Why not?"

"H-he..." The tears ran down his cheeks, staining the blanket further. "G-got angry. He started yelling an-and then these scary people tried to hurt me."

_I still can't tell whether or not they were holding him down or literally trying to kill him. The description is too vague, not to mention he's still a child so he might not understand what their intentions were... _Sasori closed his eyes and tried to collect himself, there was no need to panic, it's been three days since he's picked up the kid and no one's pursued them so far. If he was lucky, his pursuers would have given up by now and left him. If they really tried to kill him than they would've given up when they realize a kid wouldn't be able to survive on his own. The boy had some luck that he had been passing through, luckier that he was compassionate enough to bring him along, any other Akatsuki member would've either ignored him or killed him. Good thing he wasn't any other Akatsuki member.

"I-it was scary, un." He stuttered. Sasori shuffled closer and wrapped one arm around Deidara as he brought him in a comforting hug. The child continued to cry, terrified as he nuzzled closer, desperate to feel safe while still recalling his memories from three days ago. They sat that way for a while, Sasori didn't care whether or not his Akatsuki cloak got soiled in tears, it would've gotten far more drenched in the rain. A few small tears would dry up easily.

Soon, Deidara's tears had run out and he was feeling a lot better. The redhead noticed this, slowly, he loosened his grip and stood up.

"Come on, it's time to take a bath. You've been through a lot, your still dirty with debris."

* * *

After Deidara had bathed, he dried himself off and was given some dry clothes to wear while his original ones were being washed by the inn keepers. Being much older than him, Sasori's clothes didn't fit too well but he'd get some better ones after Deidara had earned Pein's approval. His attire wouldn't be dealt with too much unless Pein was sure that Deidara would be a valued member in the future, meaning, need of clothing. Likely enough, if Deidara were to be deemed valuable then he would still not make it as a real Akatsuki member. More like a pupil until he had either proved himself worthy of the title or came of appropriate age. From the looks of it, Deidara wasn't even close to a proper age to seriously join the organization.

"Come on, you didn't take your gloves off yet. Your hands are still dirty, let's wash them." Sasori reached to slip off the gloves before Deidara quickly pulled his hands away. Slightly frustrated, the redhead tried again but Deidara was intent on not letting Sasori take off the fingerless gloves of his. Throughout the entire bath he refused to take them off and still did, it confused the puppeteer, what was so important about those gloves anyway?

"Deidara, take them off."

"No!" He insisted.

"Do you want to keep your hands dirty?"

"...No."

"Then take them off and let's wash them!" Sasori lunged forward but Deidara had already stood up and run to another part of the room. The redhead grunted in annoyance as he ran after the child, trying his best to refrain from using any dangerous force that could potentially kill Deidara.

"Get back here! Deidara!"

"No!" Immediately, Deidara began to hide behind objects, no matter how good a ninja Sasori was, even he had to refrain from breaking the objects or damaging them in fear of paying for it later. The boy hid behind the table, keeping his hands close to his chest, desperate to keep away from Sasori.

"What's so important about those gloves anyway?"

"I can wash my own hands!"

Sasori stopped, blinking before calming himself again. His arms hung to his sides, no longer animated since another solution was brought up that didn't involve him grabbing the kid.

"Fine, you can wash your own hands but first tell me why you won't take off your gloves."

"Y-you wouldn't like it if you knew." His voice was barely above a whisper, a murmur if you could call it that.

"And why not?"

"I don't wanna tell you!" The child snapped at the other before running off into the washroom and sliding the door shut loudly. Sasori was left in silence, his eyes were still plastered to the door, silently pondering about the whole event. He didn't get children, nevertheless...he _was _the one who wanted to keep him.


	3. Out the Window

**Out the Window**

The rain had stopped. Sasori hadn't payed much thought into previous events as he gazed curiously out the sliding door. It was still wet outside, the conditions for travelling were pretty bad to say the least, there was water pooling at the edges of the path outside the inn. But it wasn't the puddles that got his attention mainly, there was some chatter outside that got a bit annoying so he had looked out. People were walking in groups down the path outside, some wearing strange clothing that looked out of place in the muddy environment. A group of villagers would pass by, most of them wearing a common outfit of some sorts. One group wore black Keikogi with white characters written on both sides of the chest. The top was tied together by a white obi and it was practically the same of others who seemed to wear the same kind of theme but with a different colour pattern. Like they were in teams, Sasori began to wonder what event was waiting to happen. Stepping back, he closed the sliding door and turned back to his work. Though there wasn't anything particular that was in need of doing there was always room to improve. He had a few ideas that would benefit his collection. An upgrade that involved larger blade compartments and lighter metal parts. The problem was, he wasn't in Blacksmith shop so he couldn't actually start building some parts based on his instructions. Though he was a puppeteer, he was a ninja too and his puppets couldn't afford to be all sticks and wood, but metal parts were hard to come by due to his travelling lifestyle, he didn't get much time to work on metal parts anyway. He sat down and picked up a scroll from inside of Hiruko, as a craftsman who also travelled, he had to carry a lot of things and sealing them seemed to be the more convenient choice. Could he seal humans? Surely life would be a lot easier if he could do that, maybe that kid he brought along wouldn't be such a hassle to carry.

Deidara. How could he forget? Deidara had gone to wash his hands earlier but it seemed to have a taken a while. Sasori didn't think much of it before, simply writing it off as he had thrown a fit and didn't want to come out. It had been a few hours now and he was sure that no matter how angry the kid was, surely Deidara wouldn't be _that _committed to locking himself up. Or was he?

"Deidara." He called out loudly enough that someone from the washroom could hear. There was no response. Sasori blinked, now suddenly more concerned with the child. He stood up and walked quietly over to the washroom door.

"Deidara, are you angry?"

No response.

The redhead was now genuinely concerned, he attempted to open the door but found it locked. Concentrating chalkra to his fingers, he used chalkra threads to seep into the other side of the door and open the latch. Once finished, he pulled the door open.

"Kid, it's time to come out." Sasori walked in, there was no presence inside. Deidara was not in the washroom. There was breeze inside, the puppeteer turned towards a small window over the toilet, it was open. Sure, it was small but not small enough that any kid couldn't squeeze their way through. Sasori furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance.

"That damn brat."

_Meanwhile_

"They're better than before..." Deidara sighed as he hid in an alleyway between two large buildings. He was changing clothes, the ones that Sasori had given him made it hard to move around since they were too large but he found some better fit ones on a drying line. Sure, it was stealing but so what? He wasn't gonna run around naked out there, especially with all these people around. Sometimes stealing was necessary and besides? Who was gonna miss a few pieces of clothing anyway? They could just buy more and Deidara felt he needed them more than whoever owned them. He wasn't willing to discard the clothes that Sasori had handed over so instead, he stole a bag to carry them in. Deidara had a dreaded feeling that Iwagakure wasn't gonna welcome him with open arms anymore, most likely, if he were to return he'd just get in trouble.

Once finished, he threw the bag over his shoulder and peeked outside the alley. People were setting up shops and stands as well as vendors, there were more lanterns than should be in a market. The sweet aroma of food could be smelled even from here and the very thought of food made Deidara's stomach groan. He wasn't the type to steal, at least that's what he thought. The tea he had earlier was no substitute for real food but it kept him going up 'till now. He hadn't eaten in a while and food was the most tempting thing in the world now. Walking out, he tried to look normal among the crowd, the clothes he wore were from residents living here so he shouldn't stand out too much.

"Are you alone?"

The voice made Deidara jump and turn around only to face a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She had straight brown hair and wore a green kimono with pink flowers, she was crouching down to his height.

"Y-yeah. Whats it to you, hmm?" The boy huffed, trying to sound tough.

"Well, little kids like you should be with your parents right?"

"I'm not a kid!" Deidara snapped, catching the attention of some passerby's but most turned away quickly after a glance.

"Really? Then how old are you?"

"I'm seven!"

The lady chuckled. "Last time I checked, you're not an official adult until you turn eighteen. Where are you parents?"

"They're not here."

"They're not?"

"They want me to meet them at a place. I'm going there." The blonde lied through his teeth. It wasn't a hard one to make anyway, his parents really _weren't _here. Thing was, they probably weren't anywhere he knew of, in fact, he never even knew his parents.

"Oh...okay then. Well, enjoy the festival!" The woman stood up and waved.

"Festival?" Deidara repeated.

"You know, the Dragon boat Festival!" The woman said in a surprised tone.

"I'm not from here. I don't know about that, un."

"There's a Festival held every year when teams race their dragon boats across that lake over there." She pointed towards the large lake in front of the village. "It originated from an old tale that a great Shinobi who did good drowned in that lake. People from our village raced to try and save him but they were too late. Now, we hold this tradition to race boats to commemorate that Shinobi. It's sad but the Festivals fun! You should stay a while." The smiled kindly before turning to leave.

Deidara stood still, pondering about the idea of a Shinobi and a festival. He had never known things like these happened outside Iwagakure, he had never left Iwagakure so he never knew. And he was never allowed to attend if there were any festivals at all so this was completely new. Too bad though, he couldn't stay. He needed to keep moving so nobody who knew him and his origins would find him or recognize him. There was no home to return to anymore.

* * *

Sasori weaved in and out of the crowds, there were definitely more people than when he got here. He tipped his hat upwards to see better above the crowd, there were illuminated lights everywhere and the noise level was unusually high. A Festival, most likely a festival was going on. How he knew? Well, festivals usually involved: Lots of people, lots of noise, lots of food, lots of food stands, lots of lights, and most annoying...lots of kids.

He should have kept a better eye on Deidara, now the boy could be anywhere doing anything. Leader would not be happy to hear from Zetsu that he had lost Deidara, first Orochimaru and now the kid he said he'd look after himself. Deidara not only meant Pein's trust and approval but also his career. Losing Deidara meant losing all that but raising him right meant redemption from losing Orochimaru previously. He couldn't lose the kid, it had only been three days!

* * *

"I think I'm lost..."

Deidara looked around, people here, people there, there were people everywhere! No exits! Just stands and shops and more stands and shops! The bustling noise of talking didn't help either and being a kid with no adult around, he began to feel a little embarrassed to be walking around alone. His stomach grumbled, and loudly too. Food was everywhere but it wasn't like he could take it. Clothes were one thing but food was were many shop keepers would draw the line. But Deidara needed to eat, stealing wasn't so bad, not in his situation right? Looking around he spotted a stand still being set up but the food was already cooked.

It was a dango stand, and Deidara loved dango.

* * *

Deidara moved his hand blindly over the ledge as the Owner was occupied with some customers. He grunted in annoyance when he didn't feel anything on the window ledge that felt even remotely like any kind of food. He peeked out from his hiding place on the other side of the stand, eyes widening at the sight of a plate of with two dango placed on it right at his fingertips. The owner turned, causing Deidara to quickly retreat back to his hiding place, sweating slightly for he dreaded the idea of getting caught. He waited a few seconds before peeking again wearily, the owner had turned again, now his back facing Deidara. Seeing his chance, Deidara reached slowly an carefully towards the dango, his stomach grumbled again. Once in range, he grabbed the dango stick and pulled back until-

"Hey! Gramps! Some kid is stealing your stuff!"

The boy froze, his heart started beating at a terribly fast rate as he slowly looked up to meet with the angry gaze of the owner. It wasn't a very pleasant sight, the old man looked as if he had never smiled in his entire life, the wrinkles that came from age only amplified the look. He had a dark shadowy look in his wrinkled old face. Deidara could only stare, he couldn't move, thousands of thoughts and solutions as well as things he could say to defend himself rushed through his head, each idea was denied.

"You gonna pay for that kid?"

The blonde didn't respond.

"Ya hear me? I asked whether you were gonna pay for that." The old man pointed directly at the dango that was now in Deidara's possession. Some bystanders started watching the scene play out as more and more attention was given to Deidara who had just got caught stealing.

"Undesciplined kids think they can do _whatever _they want. Roaming the streets and takin' things without payin' first!" The old man grabbed Deidara by the collar and roughly lifted him off the ground. The child began to try and fight the old man, punching and kicking in anger and fear.

"Let go of me old man!" Deidara lashed out.

"Old man? Don't you have _respect _for your elders, Brat?"

The boy stopped wriggling, now simply hanging at the old man's mercy with a poker face. Now threatening the old man with an expression meant to make others think he's stupid.

"See? Now that's better! Now hand back that dango and I'll let'cha run free." The old man gave a horrible smile. Deidara simply stared at him with a dumb look, casually he lifted the arm that held the stolen dumplings.

"Come on now, I won't bite!" The old man urged for him to hurry up but Deidara simply turned his head away from the old man. Opening his mouth and casually taking a bite of the dango. The old man blinked, suddenly furious he threw Deidara to the ground. The boy quickly recovered and stood up. "Hey! What was that for!?"

"You ate it! You could've given it back and gone free but instead ya ate it! You'd better pay for that!" The old man lunged forwards, attempting to grab Deidara but he was too quick as he quickly ran for his life in the other direction. He didn't care how much attention he was gaining, or even if Sasori saw him! Old men could be scary, he knew personally...

"Get back here brat!"

Deidara stopped to look back, it was obvious that the owner had problems getting through the crowd without people taking it in offense. There was an advantage to being small and getting through crowds is exactly that. Immediately, he shoved the whole stick into his mouth to eat on the go, surely carrying a dango while running is harder than eating it, he didn't know but it seemed like the better option at the moment. The old man was definitely crazy, just one dango and Deidara's running for his life, he just hoped the old man wasn't out to kill.

He was hopeless without his explosions, they usually helped a lot in these cases, this wasn't the first time he was the one running. If only there were some clay somewhere, anywhere! Anywhere where there was something that he knead and mold. Even cooking dough was a good suffice!

"Stand still will ya!"

Deidara glanced back but quickly looked forward, not wanting to make eye contact with the crazed old man. Another crowd was up ahead, there were a lot of kids in this section and lot of people that looked like performers. This must be the activity part of the festival, hopefully one of those activities included sculpting.

* * *

_There are a million kids here..._Sasori though angrily as he walked through the crowd. Looking around, he picked someone to ask, spying a brown haired lady who looked easy to converse with.

"Excuse me for interrupting." He started off, interrupting her conversation with another man.

"Hmm? Oh, hello!"

"Have you seen a young boy anywhere? Or girl, he might look like one." Sasori remarked. Deidara _did _look like a girl somewhat, first off he had long bangs that covered half his face and long blonde hair that nearly reached his bottom. It was tied a few inches from the end in a small ponytail. Yeah, he could be a girl, a legit girl.

"What does he look like?"

"Long blonde hair, greyish eyes. He looks to be from six to nine years old."

"Oh yeah! I did meet a young boy that looked like that. He was walking alone in the middle of the festival. I asked where his parents were but he said he was meeting them. Are you related to him?"

"No, no, I'm just responsible for him. Where did you see him?" _He lied his way past her._

"He was in the area that sells food. Certainly not around here."

"Can you direct me to where that is?"

The woman nodded before pointing west just ahead of Sasori. "Over there I think."

"Thank you." Sasori bowed in thanks before turning to where the lady directed him. Deidara was becoming a pain, at first he thought it would be simple and that he was just a shy kid. He acted like one back at the inn, he was nervous about everything and acted up over taking off his gloves. Threw a fit and claimed to wash his hands himself before escaping out the window. There was roof under the window so it was as easy as jumping one story before making his way down to the ground. He approached a large group of kids gathered at a small stage. It was a puppet show, someone was telling a story while using strings to puppeteer the characters. One of the characters was a dog and the other was a mean looking boy. It appeared they were fighting together against another enemy puppet. Sasori didn't give much more than a glance, he didn't think much of entertainers who claimed to be puppeteers. He personally thought those who used _real _puppeteering for battle were in every right to call themselves puppeteers. Simply entertaining wasn't good enough, it was a waste. It's not like a puppeteer always got payed anyway, getting payed for missions was guaranteed.

"Ugh!"

Sasori paused and looked down. He felt something push him just now but fail to move him significantly. Deidara was laying on the ground, sitting on his butt in what looked like the aftermath of a collision.

"Where were you?" The redhead asked nonchalantly.

The boy seemed to realize something as he stopped whining and looked up. He made eye contact with Sasori, who simply looked down on him.

"Sasori?!"

"You have some nerve to jump out the washroom window, kid."

Deidara collected himself and picked up his bag with clothes inside. The dango stick lay on the ground. The boy stood up and crossed his arms."I don't stay with strangers."

"I picked you off the road and cared for you for two days. You know my name. Can you really call me a _stranger_?" Sasori challenged.

"Hmph!" Deidara crossed his arms defiantly.

"Deidara..." Sasori would've sighed if he had lungs. This kid definitely was not the shy type. He was crying back at the inn, now he seemed like a completely different kid.

"Payback!"

Sasori watched as the boy quickly dodged the old man that fell out of the crowd and crashed into him. Deidara hid behind Sasori, the puppeteer didn't move an inch when the old man ran into him, quite simply, he was an unmovable object. He looked down questionably at the old man but didn't quite get the chance to ask when Deidara started to laugh loudly.

"Y-you brat!" The old man stuttered, hand grabbing his face as his nose bled from hitting Sasori so hard.

"So?" The boy laughed.

"Deidara, what did you do?"

"That thief stole my Dumplings! He didn't even pay for them!" The old man accused Deidara, pointing at him abruptly. Sasori turned to look at the kid, this time with with a menacing glare that told him that he was gonna go through hell after this.

"Haha..." His laugh slowly ceased.

* * *

**A/N: For those who made it this far in the story I thank you for reading! I know I'm not the best writer in the world but to see you made it to Chapter three is enough for me to feel like I just won the lottery! Please Review if you'd like, it helps me a little. *nervous smile***


	4. Hunted & Killed

**A/N: There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter. Just to warn ya.**

* * *

**Hunted & Killed**

"It was annoying to have to find you through all that you know." Sasori gave Deidara a glance as the two walked on their way back to the inn. The boy huffed, looking away from the redhead with a scowl, not wanting to listen to anything the he had to say. Sasori carried the bag with clothes in it himself, knowing that if Deidara _were _to somehow escape again, he would at least not escape with _his _clothes.

"That man didn't seem to be in a very cheery mood kid, I'd prefer you not do stupid things like that. It only causes more problems for me." Sasori voice held an annoyed edge to it.

"Like I care!"

"Why did you run off like that? I don't recall doing anything particularly bad to you at the inn. And no, the glove thing doesn't count as anything bad."

The blonde stayed quiet, still not giving Sasori even the shortest of glances since he still seemed angry. Sasori looked around, wondering if he could find anything that could help lighten the mood. Eventually, he looked at the sky and noticed that the clouds had rolled away to reveal a beautiful light blue sky above them.

"Sky is clearing up, a nice sunny day."

"So?"

"Don't you like Sunny days?

Deidara furrowed his eyebrows at Sasori, wondering what he was getting at with talking about the sky. Curiously, he looked up himself, however not impressed with the vast blue sky.

"It's always sunny in Iwagakure. Almost every day."

"I see, it's always sunny in Sunagakure too."

"Suna...gakure?"

"My home village, I was born in Sunagakure. Sunagakure resides in the land of wind. It's all desert for miles back there."

"Desert? Isn't it hard to live in a desert.?" Deidara asked curiously.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, in a desert there aren't any rivers or lakes. And I thought only lizard, snakes and bugs could live there."

"The people from Sunagakure lived for generations in that place. They have their methods to support a village."

"And how do they do that?"

Sasori shrugged. "I only know trading with other villages had something to do with it."

The two reached the inn, Deidara walked in first with Sasori following closely behind. The room was already dimly lit with the windows open to let in light. The candle that lit the room previously had been put out. The blonde sat cross-legged on his futon bed while the puppeteer made his way to a large object that was covered with a large black sheet. He kneeled down in front of it and slid his hands under the tarp, doing something with his hands underneath. Deidara wanted to ask what he was doing but had another more important question in his mind.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"You lived in that desert place, you were born there so what are you doing here? I don't know where we even are right now but it sure doesn't look like a desert."

Sasori removed the tarp from the object, revealing a large humanoid looking thing with a cloak on with the exact same pattern that Sasori wore. It had a masked face and dead looking eyes, it's back was a large face with a hole in it's back that was a large grin. Deidara's eyes widened at the sight of it, though, if not surprised, he was definitely intrigued.

"I don't live in the desert anymore." He answered simply, but the boy was already on whole other topic.

"What's that?"

"It's my puppet, its name it Hiruko." Sasori twitched his fingers and lifted his hand, chalkra threads attached themselves to the puppet and the puppet was suddenly animated, moving slightly and making clacking sounds as it continued to push itself off the floor.

"Puppet?" Deidara repeated, fascinated by Hiruko, staring wide eyed in a way that would've boosted Sasori's ego a bit. The puppeteer continued working for a few minutes silently while Deidara watched, he eventually turned to the boy, giving him a look that demanded his attention.

"I'll ask you again, why did you run off like that?"

The seven year old hesitated before responding. "I wanted to go outside for a bit."

"Try again, I know when you're lying."

"There was a festival and I wanted to go, okay? Who wouldn't want to go to a festival?"

"You woke up in the inn, it isn't very likely you'd know that there was a festival the moment you did. Also, you locked the washroom door and squeezed through that window to get out. Sounds more like an escape attempt than just getting fresh air."

"...You _really _wanna know?"

"That's why I'm asking you."

Deidara hesitated, biting his lip nervously as he looked away from Sasori, staring at the ground with a fearful look. He seemed to be thinking, contemplating from the redhead's point of view.

"...Promise not to do anything after I tell you?" He said in a tone barely above a whisper. The room was quiet so it was still clear enough to be heard.

Sasori nodded.

"_Promise?_"

The redhead blinked, then leaned back and gave the boy a genuine smile.

"I promise."

Deidara found comfort in the smile, beginning to lighten up and the stress was already seeping away. He suddenly found it easier to speak.

"I thought you'd take me back to Iwagakure."

"Go on..."

"I got chased out of the village by ninja. They were using Jutsu and everything, they wanted to hurt me."

"Do you have any idea why they wanted to kill you?" Sasori asked. Deidara tensed as he tried to recall memories. Sweat trickled down his forehead, trembling slightly as he looked up at Sasori with a nervous stare, he grit his teeth. Sasori twitched his fingers, Hiruko's lid lifted and revealed the inside of of the puppet. It had a cloth covering and padding the inside, the Puppeteer uncovered the back of the inside, revealing a compartment filled with items. A few bottles and jars filled with herbs and other materials. Old beaten up books and scrolls were also contained along with some other things like pens and paint brushes. Sasori shuffled through his things.

"I-I don't know."

Sasori grabbed a scroll and opened it, standing up, he walked over to the tea table and placed the scroll on it. Deidara noticed as the other had stood up. His eyes had followed him to the table, now watching curiously.

"Are you sure you don't know? Why don't you think again, maybe you'll figure something out."

"Like I said! I don't know!" The boy yelled and turned away from him.

With a puff of smoke, a puppet suddenly appeared on the table. Deidara's attention was easily aroused for he quickly looked over the moment he heard something fall on the table. Sasori glanced at him, turning back to his work he started to look over the joints of the puppet, wondering silently how he could strengthen them since this particular puppet had weaker joints than desired.

"A-another puppet?"

"What did you think it was, kid? Of course it's a puppet, what else could it be?"

"If you don't want to talk about why they were chasing you, how about you tell me why you think I'd take you back?"

Deidara looked back at the ground. "...If I go back, I'll get in trouble."

"You know, I wasn't going to take you back there anyway."

"Huh?" Deidara blinked in surprise.

"I can't go back to my village either."

The blonde cocked his head. "Why?"

"I have my reasons, but ever since I've been on my own...and you will too now that you say your village won't accept you anymore. You'll be hunted and killed if the tracker ninja ever get the chance."

_Hunted? Killed? _Those two words were enough to shake up Deidara. He had already accepted the idea that they wouldn't take him back before but now that he actually thought about it...

"And that's why, I won't give them that chance." Sasori stood up. He turned and walked in front of him. Sitting down, he looked him straight in the eye. He was going to ask something serious, even someone as young as Deidara could tell.

"Instead of going it alone, how about you come with me?"

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed! Please Review if you'd like.**


	5. A Gaping Mouth

**A/N: This Chapter has been edited to its intended form. Instead of two separate Chapters, it's now one Chapter. **

* * *

**The Gaping Mouth**

_Good, he's finally asleep, and for sure. _Sasori scanned Deidara's body, covered in the bedsheets on his futon. He slept on his side, the bedsheets rising and falling indicating a steady breath. The peaceful expression had returned, Deidara was back to his slumber. It surprised Sasori, such a high activity level before he'd finally drop dead asleep. From what he knew, he was just running on a small sip of Green Tea and a Dango stick for the day, not to mention he probably hasn't eaten in a while before that. This kid was tough- no, this _brat _was tough, could beat a spoiled brat any day though. He gave a glance to a clock placed on the table in the room.

_Almost 8:00...better that the kid get his rest now 'cause we're leaving early tomorrow. He's already attracted attention with that fiasco involving the old man. I don't think everyone in this village is ignorant of the Akatsuki._

Sasori stopped, he stared distantly at the green tatami floors as he focused on sound. He could hear faint footsteps outside their room, just outside the door. It got closer to the door from the hallway outside, closer...closer...

_Thump..._

_ Thump..._

_ Thump..._

He heard the footsteps cease, then a low shuffling outside the door. Sasori narrowed his eyes suspiciously, his brown pupils focused on the sliding door into their room. He watched it carefully, ready to identify whoever was behind it when it opens. Friend, or foe. Slowly, his right hand reached over to his back, ready to grab a scroll containing a puppet in case there were enemies behind the door.

The door shook a little.

His hand moved closer to his scrolls.

The door finally slid open, revealing an woman with greying hair. She seemed to be between middle to old aged. She was sitting on her knees, in front of her was some food. She smiled warmly and bowed respectfully, her forehead nearly touched the floor as she slid the food into the room.

"Your dinner sir."

Sasori relaxed, just the keepers. No longer tense his right arm drooped by his side, no need to bring out the puppets, not yet. He murmured a small 'thank you' to her. The woman moved back into a sitting position, she seemed to look around the room, then eyed the blonde child sleeping in the corner.

She seemed to smile a little though it was hard to tell on her wrinkled face. The keeper leaned back and reached for some folded clothing.

"The washed clothes, we're sorry it took a while, some problems occurred."

_Problems?_ Sasori walked in front of the old woman and took her same position, kneeling down. The woman handed him the clothing as Sasori took it gratefully and layed it beside himself.

"Problems? What kind of problems?"

"There were some things happening in the staff so we had to wash them a little later. But I assure you it's nothing to worry about."

"What was happening?"

"I'm afraid I cannot say more than that, sir."

"Oh, I see." Sasori leaned forward in a small bow simultaniously with the older woman as she made a deep bow the she always did, forehead nearly touching the tatami mats. "Thank you for letting us stay." Both straightened up and looked at eachother. The old woman smiled again and reached for the door, sliding it closed. The room was silent again, the only sound he could hear was the sound of the old woman moving outside their door. He stood up quietly, right leg first as he also picked up the clothing and placed it near Deidara. While he was looking, Sasori made sure that Deidara wasn't at all disturbed by staff and their conversation. He didn't look any different, not disturbed that was, still deep asleep.

Sasori turned back to the Kaiseki dinner on a tray, staring at it quietly for while. He didn't eat, he was puppet so there was no point in having dinner. Walking over he picked up the tray, careful not to spill and placed it on the short table next to a couple of red scrolls he had laying around. He'd leave it for Deidara, surely he'd be hungry once he's woken up. It'll be cold but it wasn't like they were gonna stick around in the morning for breakfast. There wasn't a lot of noise, it was night now so things were pretty silent. The inn was close to the village, just outside of it but far away enough that the noise coming from the events held there weren't too audible.

**"Sasori, come out."**

"Zetsu?" Sasori murmured, he was sure it was Dokuzetsu or simply Kuro-Zetsu as many called his black side. Either way, they were known as "Zetsu" as a whole.

"_It's too strange to talk to you from down here. _**So come out of that inn and make things easier on us.**"

_Both of them, of course. It's not like they separate often. _Sasori nodded visibly and moved to the door. He didn't bother speaking to Zetsu in the inn, just in case anyone would hear them. He put his hand on the door but paused to look at the sleeping child for the last time at the corner of his eye. The kid better not suddenly wake up and decide to run off, or Sasori might lose it.

* * *

"_Aah...fresh air, better than that earthy smell. Not to say that it's too bad though._" Jozetsu commented as his body grew outwards of a tree. They were in the forest behind the inn, it wasn't like they were willing to take the risk of talking in the middle of road. There was nothing normal about a boy with a decorated black cloak conversing with a giant talking plant in the open. It was better to have some cover.

"What is it now?" Sasori asked.

"_Not much. _**Leader wants us to check on you two, specifically the kid.** _Speaking of that kid, how's the sprout doing?_"

"He's doing alright. Definitely has enough energy to wreak small amounts of havoc in public." The redhead felt a little annoyed to be reminded of Deidara's escape plans.

"**Havoc? What did he do?**"

"The kid ran off and stole some stuff, clothes, a bag, food. Got in trouble and I had to pay for the food." Sasori avoided the subject of _how _child escaped.

"_Kakuzu would've been pissed! _**I thought you were looking after him.**"

"I was."

"**Then how did he escape? Let me guess...**_you dropped your guard! Letting a kid like that run off without you even knowing! _**That's pretty pathetic for Sasori of the Red Sand.**" Jozetsu began to chuckle, grinning at the thought that a kid could run right under Sasori's nose.

Sasori frowned, he didn't want to be reminded of how he failed to keep the kid contained the first time. It was a pretty large failure on his part, he was an Akatsuki member too, adding to the embarrassment. He should have noticed, the lack of his presence in the area and the strange quietness that contradicted a temper tantrum.

"I know that much. Just drop it, what does Leader want?" The puppeteer growled.

"_Wait, isn't leaving him alone back there giving him the chance to run again?_"

"He's in a deep sleep, I made sure. Before now, he drank a little tea and ate the dango he stole. He's running low on energy, he needs to rest."

"**Good, cause he'll need the energy for what Leader-sama's planning. **_But first, what have you found out? We're a little early to be asking that I know but what Leader orders is what's done._"

"...His name is Deidara. He seems to be around seven to nine years old and hails from the Hidden Stone Village. He doesn't seem to be loyal to his home village. Those things I know for sure but there are some other things that I'm wondering about him."

"**Like what?**"

"He doesn't want me to take his gloves off, I think they're related to the giant mouth that's on his chest." Sasori blinked calmly, thinking back.

Zetsu processed the idea of a mouth on one's chest, he tilted his head slightly in confusion. The notion was strange but it wasn't as strange as a talking plant for sure, but picture of a child with a giant mouth on their front was a freaky thought. "**A giant mouth you say? **_Never heard of anything like that before._"

The puppeteer nodded, confirming his information. It was a surprise to him too, when he saw it gape open with a humongous tongue stretching outside of the chest.

_Flashback_

_The kid was stubborn, most definitely. They were both the same gender so it puzzled Sasori when the child got worked up over changing in front of him. Not only that, but Deidara wanted to bathe on his own and got angry over the idea that the redhead would be watching him. He wasn't a girl, maybe he looked like one from the hair but whatever was under the kid's clothing was nothing that Sasori was sure he hadn't seen before. Eventually, he negotiated and said he'd wait outside the door, not looking or anything, just making sure things were okay. Deidara had a few objections but was fine with it overall, Sasori was just happy the argument was over._

_ So there he sat, cross-legged outside the door facing the wall with a stoic expression as he heard the child finish up and start putting on some clothes. The kid as also managed to keep his gloves on the entire bath too, Sasori had suggested he take them off and let him hold on to them while he was bathing but he hastily refused. He was curious, what was the kid hiding? He doubted it was anything _too _important but you could never be too careful. What if it _was_ important? What if there was something he'd need to report later? Leader would get angry if Sasori would miss something as small as this if it did turn out as important. _

_ Just a peek, just to see what Deidara was so self-conscious about..._

_ Slowly and quietly, Sasori stood up and walked to the front of the sliding door. Careful not to let out any sound, he pulled it open just a crack so he could look inside with a single eye. He leaned in and looked around, then focusing on a small body in the far left middle. Just the view of his back was visible. He hadn't put a shirt on yet, just the pants he had given him and was currently working on unfolding the dark blue top. He still wore the gloves, surprisingly. His blonde hair was not in the low ponytail that he had before, not tied up at all. Sasori started to scan his body, not finding anything that he hadn't seen before of course. He was beginning to think the kid just didn't like to be watched. But the guess was premature._

_ Deidara pulled the shirt above himself and tried to slip into it. Suddenly, he heard a small whine, then something supposedly wet sounding. Sasori couldn't guess what it was before he was shocked to see Deidara stumble back a little as a large pink tongue made itself visible to even the back. Covered in transparent saliva it moved realistically, no fake. _

_ "Keep it down! Behave!" Deidara hissed harshly as his arm moved to push the giant tongue back. Unfortunately, he moved to the side enough that Sasori could get a full view of his chest, a giant mouth with rows of human teeth were there along with a giant tongue fighting off Deidara as the main attraction, definitely not "behaving". _

_ Sasori quickly closed the door, he didn't need to see much more than that. He closed his eyes and stared at the floor after the mild shock. Not the most normal kid he had ever met for sure._

* * *

"I was surprised too. He also mentioned to be raised until now by the Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone."

Sasori watched as Zetsu pulled his way out of the tree, seeming to melt into shape. His Akatsuki cloak became visible as it came out with the rest of his body. He took a rough step onto the ground to support himself as he pulled his other leg out of the ground.

"_That old man Onoki? _**He's still the Tsuchikage I see. **_Why doesn't that Geezer retire already? I heard he was getting back problems lately._"

"So, is the Tsuchikage this kid's grandfather?"

"**I doubt it. **_The only known family the Tsuchikage has is his granddaughter, _**Kurotsuchi.**"

The redhead crossed his arms, now wearing a doubtful expression. "That doesn't make Deidara being his grandson impossible though. His only _known _family?"

"**As far as I know, **_the old man _**doesn't have any other relatives.**"

"...Are you sure?"

"**You think **_I'd lie?_"

Sasori stared skeptically at Zetsu for a short few moments. Seemingly unbelieving that the Tsuchikage would care for anyone who was not a family member. Even then, it was known that Old Man Onoki was particularly harsh on young people, even his own granddaughter at times. He thought about it a little more before speaking.

"No." He let his arms fall to his sides, blinking before tilting his head up at Zetsu due to his short stature. "If anything, the kid should have some skill right?"

"_Should. _**Don't get your hopes up.**"

He narrowed his eyes. "...Where's this going?"

"**Leader wants you to know that he won't go easy. **_Even ninja with the most unqiue skills usually _**don't last**. _Whatever you have to say now _**will be reported right back to Leader. In a few days he'll give you his opinion.**"

Sasori stepped forward and blinked in surprise. "What?! I thought we had a week!"

"**You did. **_You spent the first three days already._"

"I thought the first day when I asked permission didn't count!"

Zetsu shrugged. "**After tonight you've only got **_four days. _**Told you not to get your hopes up.**"

"Four days huh?" Sasori just had to accept the fact, but four days was barely a week and it narrowed Deidara's chances of proving himself any time soon. He'd have to rush it, he wasn't the only one in the Akatsuki who was impatient.

"_Another thing, _**you are not to mention anything related to the Akatsuki to the boy.**"

"He's already seen my cloak. I haven't taken it off."

"_Just _**do it.**"

"Fine. Is that it? You gonna report already?"

"_Aw, what's the hurry? _**Let's stay a little a longer and **_chat._" The plant man teased the other a little, picking on the sudden annoyed tone that Sasori had started to speak in. He was beginning to get under the pressure.

"About what?"

"_You want some _**advice? I was thinking about it earlier.**"

"What advice? What makes you think I need any advice?"

Zetsu chuckled. "**My advice is:** _Don't get attached to the kid. _**Leader isn't willing to trust him with information from the Akatsuki. **_He might blab to someone else about our secrets._"

* * *

_"And when he grows up? What if he rebels? He'll give our Organization away!"_

* * *

_It's the same as Konan..._The puppeteer thought, slight anger began to boil within him. Sure, Deidara was a little rebellious, a bit reckless...or a lot, but he didn't seem to be the type to talk about whatever. Not from the way he's spoken to him at least. He kept quite a few secrets, though there was fairly enough he knew from talking to him to fill out a simple profile.

"Deidara isn't like that."

"**And how do you know that? **_Didn't he just wake up today_?"

"I've talked to him myself, he isn't the type to do that."

"_Aren't you quick to judge? _**Guess my advice won't be useful, **_you're attached already. _**That's dangerous, especially for one such as you.**"

"Who said I was attached?" Sasori said defensively.

"**You make me wonder why the hell you brought that kid along. **_He'll be a nuisance anyway. Whatever's so special about him _**will only get him killed the end.** _Besides, he's just a kid. _**If he has anything special at all, he probably won't know how to use it. **_A sitting duck, just a target._"

_Just a target. _Those few words were enough to make him lost a little self control. The redhead growled, hands now balled into fists.

"_Hey, since I'm so curious. _**Why **_**did **_**bring along that brat anyway?**"

"Shut up! Why I decided to take him under my wing isn't any of your business!" He snapped, angry. If he had any self control at all, he definitely would have thought before opening his mouth.

"_Whoa! Defensive! _**It **_**is **_**part of our business. Have you forgotten, **_why we're even here?_"

"I get that, but unless it's Leader himself asking that question, why I did it is confidential."

"_Confidential huh?_" Jozetsu grinned, amusingly. "**If that's how it is, than consider this question a question from Leader himself. **_Since we're here on his order and all._"

"I won't consider it a question from Leader, it doesn't change anything."

"**I'm telling you, this is dangerous Sasori.** _Getting attached to anyone is dangerous, you should know that."_

"I chose to bring Deidara along and I did it myself. I'm not attached, I don't _feel _anything for that boy. I just thought raising him would bring new opportunities for the Akatsuki. While I'm around, I won't tolerate hearing any less of him."

"_Oh calm do-_" Zetsu was interrupted as he was suddenly busy with the task of dodging Sasori's poison cord. He dodged successfully, leaving the cord to stab a nearby tree. The two were silent as Zetsu stared at the cord, the bark around it had broken, the cord was reinforced with chakra. Glancing at the user, he was now sure that the puppeteer had aimed to kill.

"**What was that? **_You want to start something?_" The Akatsuki member grumbled dangerously.

Sasori eyes were wide, he glared at Zetsu out of the corner of his eye, his head hadn't turned. There a slightly insane look to his eyes. The cord had protruded his cloak through the space in between the buttons from the stomach. Slowly, the cord withdrew, snaking it's way back into the confines of the puppet user's cloak. He continued to glare, however generally emotionless looking, his eyes showed a glint of fury.

"Like I said, I won't tolerate hearing any less of him."

"**Didn't anyone ever tell you **_not to the kill the messenger? And I wasn't about to say anything about the sprout._"

"You said something before." The redhead turned to fully face the plant man. "About how you thought he was nuisance. I should have lashed out earlier, maybe it'd be easier to understand why I killed you."

"**Hopeless. **_That was mean, I don't wanna be here anymore._**I agree, let's leave.**" With that, Zetsu's feet sunk into the ground as if it were quicksand. Soon, it the ground had begun to engulf his cloak. Sasori watched with lidded eyes and a bored expression as he glared Zetsu into the earth.

It wasn't long before he was the only one standing out in the forest. He couldn't sense the other's presence anymore. The redhead snorted. _I don't need to explain why I do the things I do._ He turned to the road in front of the forest behind the inn, making his way back.

* * *

Sasori stood in front of the sliding door to their room. The hallway was rather dark, leaving him to walk a little slower than normal as to not knock anything over before he was where he was now. He was little angry, angry at Zetsu for saying all these things about Deidara. No, not Deidara, about his choices! Sasori didn't like to be questioned, he preferred it when people just listened. Whatever he felt like doing at the time was none of that plant man's business, he could do what he wanted. He was a Master Puppeteer for god's sake! Moving his arm, he slid the door open, careful not to make much sound. Stepping inside, he removed his ninja shoes and placed then at the door. Looking around the room, he noticed that the futon bed wasn't occupied. The sheets were neatly folded.

_What? Don't tell me went up and running again... _He thought. Looking around the rest of the room, he was relieved to see that the boy had not run off, but was simply sitting down at Hiruko's side. Sasori blinked, what was he doing? He walked towards the blonde. The lack of reaction lead him to believe that he hadn't even noticed him walk in.

"What are you..." He asked but didn't end the sentence. The redhead's eyes widened he realized just what was keeping the kid so quiet. Deidara was messing with Hiruko's tail, one of the deadliest tools at the puppet's disposal. He was dangerously close to the point, which was dipped recently in a new poison that was made to be fatal.

Acting quickly, he used his Chakra strings to move the tail out of Deidara's reach. Caught by surprise, the boy immediately glanced back, only to be met with the angry redhead.

"What were you doing out of bed? Deidara?" His spoke in a dangerously low tone.

"...I-I woke up." He stuttered in fear, he knew when he was in trouble, it was pretty obvious.

Sasori glowered at him, though he looked angry, he was actually terrified. Terrified to see that the kid was touching something so dangerous. He was so terrified, that he couldn't help but feel angry at the blonde boy. Deidara could feel the puppeteers angry aura, he could practically see it.

"Do you know what this is?!" The redhead moved the tail into the child's line of sight, causing him to flinch. The point was faced towards him, he could see a little bit of dark purple liquid on the end. He quiet for a few moments, thinking over what was right to say. He looked up at him fearfully, then back to the scorpion tail.

"...No." Deidara spoke in a barely audible tone.

"This is a poisoned weapon, weapons hurt people. You shouldn't be handling something so dangerous without permission!" The puppeteer scolded, slowly snaking the tail under Hiruko's cloak.

"In fact..." He started, Deidara bit his lip, preparing for the scolding to come.

"YOU SHOULDN'T BE HANDLING SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS AT ALL!" Sasori stated sternly, glaring hard as the child winced.

A tear formed in the corner of Deidara's eyes, he forced them closed. Trembling as he sat there, half facing the puppeteer. Noticing this small detail, Sasori's expression softened as he realized that was scaring the poor kid. He relaxed his joints, taking a moment to calm down and expel his anger. He brought a hand up to his head, he closed his eyes. _Damn Zetsu, getting me riled up like that..._

"Look...just..." He started slowly, holding in any signs of anger he might show through his voice. Deidara sensed this, feeling a little more comfortable hearing a more gentle tone. He looked up at Sasori, wearily.

"...Forget it, it's over. Just don't do it again okay?"

It was barely visible, but Deidara made a tiny nod. His body still trembled a little. _This guy, he's kinda scary... _His eyes followed as the Puppet Master made his way over to the short table across the room. He stopped, then slowly glanced at him. Deidara flinched a little as they met gazes.

"Are you hungry? The staff at the inn brought dinner."

Deidara blinked. His gaze moved down to the table, eyeing the food that was placed on the it. Next to it was some folded clothing. Curiously, he got up and walked closer to the table, still weary of Sasori. Once close enough, he recognized it as his own clothing, it was washed and clean.

"I'm not hungry." The sudden close sounding voice startled him. The blonde reminded himself that Sasori was just standing over him. "It might be cold but it's better than not eating at all. We'll leave early tomorrow, so we won't be staying for breakfast."

"You didn't eat either recently. Why _aren't_ you hungry?" The boy asked, ignorant of the redhead's current bodily state. Sasori didn't answer, instead ignoring the question and going on to start thinking of some plans for the morning. He turned from Deidara and kneeled down next to Hiruko. Lifting the cloak, he checked for damage that the child might have caused when he was gone.

Deidara furrowed his eyebrows, puzzled, he didn't get that guy. He was confusing, he'd never heard of anyone who didn't eat. He huffed. _Fine then, don't answer me! _Sighing, he sat down at the table and picked up the chopsticks. He put his hands together with the chopstick wedged inbetween both of his index and middle finger. Closing his eyes, he murmured quietly.

"Thank you for the food."

* * *

**A/N: Just to explain Stuff:**

**Tatami mats: A flooring material used in tradition Japanese style rooms.**

**Kaiseki: A traditional multi-course meal served sometimes at inn's.**

**Futon: You gotta know this one, if you don't, fine. It's a traditional Japanese bedding made up of padded mattresses and quilts that can be folded away and stored for the day. Not everyone uses them but they're pretty handy for tight living quarters.**

**That's all the Japanese words I remember using. Also, servers of food in Japan(especially women) cannot turn their back on guests since it's seen as disrespectful. Though it's still confusing to me, I think it's the servers who bow lower since they're the ones doing the service. Please correct me if I'm wrong with this, I'm not Japanese though I do have a friend who is. Also, I made it purposely that Deidara doesn't use his "un" or "hm" at this age.**

**Thanks for reading! Sorry for the long Author's note. Please Review if you'd like.**


	6. Regrettable

**Regrettable**

_**Lub-dub**_

_ The darkness was suffocating. He couldn't feel himself move, the only movement he was aware of was the light rise and fall of his chest, a sign of steady breathing. His heart beat, with every thrum he felt a shiver travel down his spine. A light illuminated his back but was short lived as the door behind him shut. His back was left to the darkness, he still did not move._

_**Lub-dub**_

_ He looked ahead, the pitch darkness retreated as two flames lit themselves. The duo created a soft yellow glow, washing over a stand between them. A large scroll about half his size sat on the stand. The edges were an emerald green lined with golden yellow. The middle of the scroll had a word written on it in black ink._

_**Lub-dub**_

_**'**__**石**__**' – Stone**_

_** Lub-dub**_

_ They next thing he knew, he had suddenly gotten closer to the scroll. It lay open on the ground, complicated words and seals were written on it but the message was all too clear. _

_**Lub-dub**_

_** 'Those who use this Jutsu will can never return to normal.'**_

_** Lub-dub**_

_Without him willing it, his arms had moved into position. Silently in the darkness, he carefully worked through hand signs. He had no idea why he was doing this or what he was doing, his mind was blank, simply observing as the scene played out. He ended it with a backwards Ram hand seal, instead of the right hand over the left, the left was over the right. His hands undid the handseal and slammed onto the scroll. Nothing happened..._

_**Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub**_

_ He looked puzzled, lifting his arms as he glanced around. Nothing had changed, was it all a joke? _

_**Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub**_

_ Something moved in his shoulder, it wriggled. He felt a second do the exact same thing on his other shoulder. At the same time, the two things burrowed down his arms, he couldn't see it, just feel as the foreign being started down his forearms. His eyes moved from his right to his left, switching between the two as a dreaded feeling started to well up in his chest. Unfortunately for him, that welling in his chest was not just fear. _

_**Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub**_

_ It tore into his palms, trying to tear out of his skin. It wasn't long before he felt them tear his skin open, revealing rows of human teeth and a long tongue portrude his palms. It made a gasp, though only able to make primitive sounds. His eyes widened in shock as blood splattered onto his face. He could taste it, his own blood, but why? It hadn't gotten into his mouth. He stared at his new body parts, the mouths had tongues covered in blood. The taste buds had already connected to his nervous system, he could taste what it tasted. It was warm and wet, tasted rusty, like iron._

_**Lub-dub**_

_ Too shocked and horrified to speak, it was as if something had caught in his throat. Blood spilled from his hands, staining the open scroll. It took more than a few seconds for him to realize that something else had begun to tear at his chest. All attention was directed away from his hands as he started to feel his chest, ignoring the strange feeling of his handmouths. There was something there, wriggling, like his arms. Knowing what was going to happen he tried to stop it, prevent it was tearing open his chest. Agonizing seconds passed as it closer and closer to the surface, before it finally broke free._

_**Lub...**_

_ It tore free, Deidara screamed._

* * *

_ "AAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"_

A piercing shriek echoed throughout the inn. Sasori was at previously at work on a few errors he hadn't noticed he had made before on his puppet. The puppet previously on is lap now was cruelly slumped on the floor. Not a moment was wasted for it only took a fraction of a second for him to be kneeled by the futon bed.

Deidara had sat up, eyes wide with heavy gasps. He was in a cold-sweat, his heart felt like it was beating a thousand times per-second. He froze when he felt an arm touch his back but relaxed when he realized it was just Sasori. His dream was over, he was no longer sleeping. The redhead wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close for comfort. It was easy to notice him relax, his heartbeat had slowed down considerably.

"Nightmare?"

The blonde nodded, still focused on the sheets, replaying the scenes of the dream in his head. He could remember it well, the feeling of helplessness as the thing tore through. It ripped through him like a flesh-eating worm, he could feel it slither under his skin. It was uncontrollable, he couldn't stop it, the pain was numbed due to his fear but the memory was still there, something foreign as it ripped his body. He shivered at the thought, but he couldn't shake it, it was still clear as day in his mind, that feeling. He had no control of it, like a rabid animal.

"How bad was it?"

The boy still shivered, Sasori noticed as his heartbeat began to change pace, quickening. His body was slowly resuming its violent shake.

"What was it about?"

"I..." Deidara gulped, his forced his eyes to stay open, scared that if his closed them, the dream would continue. He shook his head furiously as he hugged his knees towards his chest. He buried himself his head, trying to be a small as possible.

Sasori raised a brow, a little frustrated. He leaned forward to see his face now more covered in his blonde bangs.

"You know, talking about it can help."

"No." He managed out.

"Deidara."

"Not this time..." He shook his head again. "It won't change anything."

Sasori tilted his head, even more confused now than ever. It didn't help at all that the confusion only led to his concern to grow for the boy, he didn't want to see Deidara like this. Even as a brat, he preferred him happy.

"H-have y-you..."

The puppeteer looked at him. Deidara was still shaking violently as he seemed to struggle trying to speak.

"...you ever...regretted doing so-something?" His words were broken, a stuttered sentence.

He blinked. "Why do you ask that?"

"J-just because..."

Sasori thought for a moment. Slowly, he tilted his head up in wonder. "Well, yes. I regret doing a lot of things, a lot of those things I know I can't change."

"..."

"But..." The redhead spoke, arousing the boy's attention.

"It's not the end of the world." Sasori looked down kindly and smiled. "You just gotta learn how to make the best of it in the end."

The seven-year old took a moment to stop shaking, slowly, his arms loosened and he lifted his head. His eyes moved up, making eye contact with the older. His little heart relaxed at the sight of him.

"Hmm..." Sasori removed his arm and sat cross-legged. His eyes moved up to the wall, staring at the bamboo design as he tried to find a way to explain it.

"Well, you just gotta make the best of it. I mean; no matter how bad things get it's not like it's the end. As long as you're still alive."

Deidara's expression became one of curiosity, staring as the puppeteer continued his speech. He had never heard someone say that before, it was interesting, inspiring.

"Keep living and things will always get better, no matter how bad it seems. You can't lose everything, that's just impossible. As long as you're alive, you'll do things, make mistakes and regret it. That's all just part of it."

"A part of it?"

"Yeah, that's why I want to live as long as possible. It's stuff like that that makes life exciting, beautiful. To live forever is...artistic."

Deidara tilted his head, he was with the guy until he said that. But to be honest, he didn't think too much of art. "...Artistic?..."

"Yes. Eternal life, to live, do things, make mistakes and regret it."

"You like regretting things?" Deidara raised a brow.

"Of course not, nobody does. But when you regret something, that's when you know how to fix it."

_Fix it? _The boy pondered the two words in his head. What the guy was saying made some sense, make a mistake and fix it, simple. Unfortunately for him, his situation was a little complicated. No longer did he think of the dream, now turning back to the white blanket sheets as he thought.

Sasori relaxed, luckily it was just a bad dream. He rested his eyes for a few seconds before opening them. _I just hope he didn't scream loud enough for anyone else to hear. I don't want to have to explain more._

"What if you can't fix it?"

The puppeteer grunted questioningly.

"I said, what if you can't fix it?"

"Fix what?" He asked dumbly.

Deidara groaned frustratedly, he straightened his back and crossed his arms, giving the puppeteer a hard look. Did he not just remember what he had said before?

"You said that when you regret something, that's when you know how to fix it! I asked what happens if you _can't _fix it!"

"Oh, _can't _fix it?"

"Yeah."

_Why did he ask that? _Sasori frowned. It wasn't like he couldn't answer that question, but explaining it would be hard since this kid seemed like the type of kid that didn't know when to give up. To be honest with himself, the answer to that question was all about giving up. He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Then you don't fix it. Just move on."

Deidara blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Look, just give up. If it comes to that, there's no real point. Moving on is your best option, just forget about it."

"Forget about it?"

"Okay, maybe not _forget about it_ but just don't let it bother you. Like I said, if things get bad then make the best of it. If you can't fix it, don't try to fix it, build on it or move on." Sasori scratched the back of his head in thought, he was really just talking about his puppets. If he couldn't fix something in his puppet, he'd either build on it or get rid of it. Building on it sometimes just meant having to find a creative way to make it work while giving up meant throwing it away to rot. Though it was mainly advice for puppeteering he heard once, it could somewhat apply to life. He really was just winging things though.

"But-"

"Look, does this have anything to do at all with that dream?"

Deidara's expression saddened, looking back to the tatami mats. "...No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" The boy said sternly, giving the puppeteer a surprisingly hardened stare. Sasori gave the child a weird look as he got up and went back to his side of the room.

"Alright then. Get ready and pack up, we're leaving."

* * *

_This cloak, it's kinda itchy..._Deidara thought mindlessly as he snaked his right arm out of his bell-cuff sleeve to scratch his shoulder. The two had left the inn but it was still dark out. The only light sources around were the dimming lights of the village below and the inn's small glow in the distance. The sky was clear of clouds to make it pitch dark, giving Deidara beautiful view of the dark blue space above. But the boy was barely paying attention as his shoulder constantly itched with every movement of friction the dark red robe made. He could tell his shoulder was going red, but he didn't care.

"Sasori, my shoulder is itching. Can I take the cloak off?" He whined.

The lumbering thing ahead didn't stop it's course of direction, as if it hadn't even heard the question. With a low, grumbling voice, it replied.

"It's not the cloak, you probably just have a mosquito bite."

"But it's fall! How can I get a bug bite?" The boy protested.

"Probably just got unlucky."

Deidara grunted, feeling another urge to scratch his shoulder as he reached over and clawed at it again. He felt around his shoulder, sensing a small bump in his skin. The boy groaned inwardly, Sasori was right.

"Itch cream?"

"We'll buy some later."

The boy felt the need to repeat his action as he reached over to his shoulder. The stinging feeling of the bite, he wanted it to be relieved and relieved quickly.

"Don't scratch it, or it'll bleed."

Heeding the order, Deidara paused and put his arm back to his side. His expression was tensed, he hated bug bites, they were annoying and took a long time to go away.

Sasori waited for the next question but eased when a whole half minute passed in silence. The brat had stopped whining, hopefully, he'd stay that way for the whole trip.

"Sasori."

"What?" The puppet groaned.

"Why do I have to wear this again?" Deidara pulled at his cloak, staring at the dark red hooded cloak. The cloak reached well past his knees but far from the ground, he chose to keep the hood off since it was still nearly black out.

"It's to help change your appearance a little. It's easy to find someone if they keep wearing the same clothes everyday. Besides, it's not Iwagakure clothing so not many will suspect you to come from that village."

"I doubt anyone was thinking that."

"Bounty hunters may."

"What's a Bounty hunter?"

"They're people who hunt criminals or make achievements for money."

"They're not ninja."

"The one I know is."

* * *

_Atchoo!_

"Got a cold Mr. Kakuzu?" The bounty officer turned to the masked man across the dark room. It wreaked heavily of corps stink, but the people there have gotten used to it over the years. Kakuzu sniffled and pulled back his mask a little to rub his nose.

"That's the second time in the last twenty-four hours. I'm not sick, I'd know if I were."

The bald mustache man smirked. "They say you sneeze when someone's talking about you."

Kakuzu scrunched his face in disapproval. "Tch! I don't believe in stuff like that."

* * *

"Wait, I'm not a bad person!" The blonde exclaimed at his elder, jumping in shock.

"Maybe you aren't but since you left your village, you'll no doubt be labeled a traitor. Not only ninja but bounty hunters will come looking for you."

"But...but..." The younger stammered, trying to find a solid argument that would not make him a criminal.

"No 'buts' about it. What's done is done."

Deidara was quiet, his eyes wide in fear and realization of what the reality of his situation really was. He was sure he was not a bad person, he hadn't done anything bad, he wasn't sure though. He sweated at the thought of never returning home, his friends, his teacher, heck, his teacher yelled at him. Not likely will any of them welcome him home. His eyes furrowed in slight anger, something moved inside his gloves, causing him to ball up his hands into a fist. Eyes glared at the dirt below his feet, gritting his teeth. _Why did those two...but they said it would help...did they lie?_

* * *

_"Use it at the next meeting, they'll be impressed for sure! And you better not forget to credit us, we helped you after all."_

* * *

The memory caused him to shut his eyes, trying his best not to cry. Deidara stopped in his tracks, sucking up miserable tears. _Dangit! Ninja don't cry!_

Sasori paused, noticing the lack of footsteps outside Hiruko. He turned Hiruko's head to look back, seeing Deidara's outline in the darkness.

"Hurry up, it's almost sunrise."

He heard a faint sniffle in the distance. Great, the kid was crying now, today was just all about tears wasn't it? It sickened him.

"Don't cry you brat, it's only a few kilometers ahead."

Deidara rubbed his eyes, mustering up courage to look up again. "W-where are we going?"

"A village famous for it's art materials."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I had five tests in the last two weeks and no, I'm not exaggerating. Seriously, I'm not. Woodwork has too many tests. I'm not Sasori, I'm no good with that stuff.**

**Anyway, I hope this chapter brings the story along a little. Spelling and grammar mistakes after reading over the previous chapters have gotten me in down mood for while. I guess that's the price to pay for not using Beta Readers. Unfortunately, I don't post enough stories to use one yet but I won't just post random ones just to get to five. I want to be able to finish stories and I'm not very good and One-shots.**

**Deidara's cloak is similar to ones that the Akatsuki wear when reanimated during the Fourth Shinobi war, the hooded ones. **

**Thank you for reading! For new readers, nice to meet you! Review if you'd like!**


	7. Sumi Village

**Sumi Village**

Deidara looked ahead from his hood. It was the afternoon and the last time he asked, they had been walking for roughly ten or so hours. The bump on his shoulder had lowered in severity of the itching, but still begged the boy to be scratched regardless. It annoyed Deidara, his thoughts often were brought to the bump ever since its presence was made known. Thing was, Sasori didn't seem too concerned with it.

On the note of Sasori, Deidara pondered the question often of why he traveled inside of that puppet. Could he see in there? Wouldn't he be controlling the puppet blind? How could he breath normally?

"We're nearly there. Just a little longer."

"W-what is this place exactly?"

"Sumi Village, or Village of the Ink if you'd prefer. It's a village that thrives on it's trade. They don't discriminate between shinobi and criminal, they sell to any and all customers so we'll be fine."

Sasori paused before continueing. "Also, no one can be arrested within the walls so while we are there, we'll be safe until we leave."

"Why not?"

"The village has a contract with the five great nations. Though I don't think it should matter why, just be glad that it's a haven for any who enter as long as the village profits from it. Those who do not bring profit to the village are either banned or escorted out."

Deidara tilted his head slightly, staring at Hiruko. "So you buy puppets there?"

"No..." Sasori emphasized, feeling demeaned to hear that one could think he 'bought' puppets. "I _make_ puppets, I get the supplies at the village."

"Oh, sorry." The boy said sheepishly.

"That's fine."

The two were quiet, Deidara felt a little guilty to have said that the puppeteer bought puppets, knowing full-well that craftsman of their work don't often like it when others ask if they bought it, as if the one viewing it didn't recognize or understand how much effort and talent was put into it. It was a rude thing to say, a rude thing that Deidara actually understood the reasoning behind wholeheartedly.

"So, are we gonna stay there for a while too?"

"Just a while, until I finish with work."

"How long?"

"Just a day or so."

"What'll I do?"

"Whatever you want."

"What _can _I do there?" The boy wondered aloud, annoying Sasori a little.

"You can be quiet. Actually, you know what?"

Deidara perked in anticipation for his new task."What?"

"Be quiet."

He shrugged back sadly, his gaze moving to the ground. "...Okay."

* * *

A little longer they walked until they reached a cliff side. Deidara looked out with awe as he stared out into sea beyond the cliff, the sky was light blue that lightly contrasted the gentle dark blue of the water in the horizon. The sea water sparkled beautifully in the distance with boats lined along the shore of the port beyond the village as small seabirds picked at the fish they either stole or hunted. Rows of houses and buildings were below, some had chimney's with smoke rising out of them, people talked happily and exchanged Ryo for materials. The village was neatly packed inside a wall of some sorts, a wall made out of a combination of wood and rock that was easily taller than even six foot tall human. Though not too tall, it was the perfect height.

It was a beautiful sight, one that Deidara took in as his grey-blue eyes grew wide in enjoyment of the scene. The cold breeze coming in from the sea flew into his face, pushing back his long blonde bang to reveal a little bit of his hidden eye. His mouth was agape in utter surprise.

Sasori meanwhile had already started to decend down the stairs on the cliff side with Hiruko, not taking a second glance at the village. He noticed a lack of small footsteps sounding behind him so he looked back.

"What are you doing? Hurry up."

The child stirred, snapping out of his daze to look at the puppet master with a large grin that was barely contained.

"It's so big!"

"What of it? A lot of village's are big." The redhead raised a brow.

"No! I mean the sea! It's bigger than the village!" Deidara raised his arms in an attempt to show Sasori how big it seemed to him.

"The sea huh? What's so remarkable?"

The child giggled and took a glance at the sea before running down the stairs, giving Sasori a small scare since it was dangerous to run down stairs. Inside Hiruko, his hand was already raised halfway of whipping out the tail to catch Deidara if he tripped and fell due to his own stupidity.

"Don't run. You'll fall and get hurt." Sasori warned sternly.

"Sorry!" The child apologized as he caught up with the other.

The Akatsuki member furrowed his eyebrows in slight worry. "Since when did you get so happy?" He moved Hiruko forward carefully, not wanting to accidentally stumble and fall embarrassingly in front of the kid.

"I've never left home before so I've never seen the sea."

"Don't you ever go on missions to other places?"

"Nope!" He popped his lips.

_What're they teaching Genin in Iwagakure anyway? Missions inside of Earth country only? _Sasori thought, baffled to hear that the child had never been away from the Village Hidden in the Stone. No wonder he was so nervous or excited whenever he saw something new. This kid had barely stepped out of his cradle.

"Can I we go to the boats? Please?"

"Later."

"Later when?" Deidara pouted.

"After I'm finished with my work."

"Can I go myself?"

"After that thing you pulled at the last village, no way."

"Aw..." The child's head hung as his pace slowed, now walking down the stairs in disappointment.

At the bottom of the stairs, the path branched into three roads. Two of the roads ran along the sides of the wall while the third lead right to the gate. Sasori reminded the seven-year old briefly to keep the hood on until they entered the Village and to stick close to him while they were here. At the front, they were welcomed by two guards, each with an eye-patch on the opposite eye. Deidara's single blue eye looked up at both with a curiosity, wondering mentally if they were twins.

The guards gazed over, one grinned at the sight of Sasori as both stepped aside to let them through.

"Master Sasori! It's been a while since you're last visit. I recon you've been running low on wood eh?" The guard with the patch on his right eye greeted.

The redhead had Hiruko's head turn to the gaurd in acknowledgement. The eyes still cold and indifferent no matter who the puppet looked at.

"I'm down by half, and I need repairs for a weak-jointed puppet of mines."

_Master? _The title struck Deidara as odd since he wasn't too educated on puppeteers. Of course, the normal meaning wasn't why Sasori was called such a name.

"Then it's the Blacksmith's shop!" The other guessed.

Hiruko nodded. "Yes, I'll need it for a while."

"Say, Master Sasori?" One asked, locking gazes with the child for a few seconds, causing Deidara to immediately look away in fear of staring.

"Who's the kid? I thought you hated children?" He pointed at the blonde.

Deidara gulped, noticing as Hiruko looked at him with a less than thoughtful gaze. Sasori hated children? That can't be it, he was so nice before, even if he was a little scary when he is angry. His smile was gentle enough, how could he hate kids? Did he hate him? But then again, he hated to think of himself as a child. Did Sasori think so too?

"That kid's...special."

"Whoa! Special? That's not a word I hear coming from you a lot." The gaurd with the patch on his left eye exclaimed. Both guards wore a shocked look at Sasori.

"And a little girl too!" The other said. "Though it's surprising enough you brought a kid, I would've expected a boy at least!"

"I am a boy!" Deidara exploded angrily at the guard.

"Are you sure?" The guard replied as the other laughed. "Have you had a talk with your parents about this?"

"You're the one who needs to get their eyes checked!"

"Deidara!" Sasori snapped, silencing the boy.

"Ignore him, he's a little bratty you see." The puppeteer had Hiruko bow his head to the two who simply chuckled in response.

"That's okay! We're just teasin' ya you know?" The gaurd chuckled to the boy who blinked in astonishment at the kindness in the guard's voice. He expected the guards to ask them questions like who they were or where they were from and they're business here but they we're really relaxed. Nothing from his initial image of an ideal guard.

"Yeah kid, lighten up! So, he your apprentice or something?" The other guard turned back to Sasori.

"No, he's not a puppeteer but he's no doubt with me."

"Damn! You're lucky kid! To travel with someone like Master Sasori! And he seems to think highly of ya too!"

"Yeah! You struck gold when you started to travel with him!"

"He's the best of the best! At puppeteering that is!"

"Just let us in, I don't want to waste anymore time. I got to get to work." The redhead grumbled as he lumbered Hiruko forward past the duo.

Seeing no resistance from the eye-patch pair, Deidara followed, staring a red cloud on Sasori's black cloak curiously. His eyes gleamed in the light from the sun coming into his hood. His mouth open slightly in wonder at the other.

_Master Sasori...it's odd but...it sounds kinda cool I guess..._

* * *

**A/N: I just noticed but I make a heck ton of Author's notes. If you ever review, please tell what you think of it and whether or not I should make less. Anyway, short chapter but I found the ending of it appropriate so I ended it there. **

**Thank you for reading! Please Review if you'd like! It was nice to meet you!**


	8. Filler: May 5th!

**MAY 5TH**

Yo! The name's Deidara but you guys probably already know that much, hm. I've been invited onto set today to thank all of the Writer's reviewers and whatnot for supporting this story and the story of little old me. Currently, I'm all grown up, but since when have I've not been, hm? Afterall, the writer told me even dead characters need their screentime.

Now! Without further ado, a shout out to the writer's reviewers!

**Jellyfisher2**

**Chaan**

**DarkChain**

**Gnest**

**Demon skitty**

**Caroline999**

**anniegirl132**

**Raidriar **

**Gothic-Romantic99**

**princessbinas**

**Lord Spaz of the Fuck Ups**

**Flover24**

These guys, or girls as I should say, supported the writer with their reviews. Of course, this doesn't mean we'll leave out the people who followed and favorited the story, yeah? A thanks to everyone who followed and favorited this thing. There's still plenty of story to go!

And now, to prove the writer's been working on Chapter 9, I'll give you guys a bit of a tidbit of the next chapter.

* * *

"_A drawing book?"_

* * *

Deidara signing out!

_(POOF)_


	9. Master Sasori Part 1

**A/N: Notice that I compiled some chapters together like I said I would in the Author Notes of previous chapters. The reason behind this is to put the Chapters into their intended form. Meaning that I may have wanted a but of the story in one chapter but due to my procrastination, it turned into two. You'll see that two chapters no longer exist because they have been put into another chapter**

* * *

_**"Sumi Village?"**_

_** "Yeah, it's just ahead."**_

_** "That old lady at the inn, you sure?"**_

_** "Blonde hair, blue eyes, a long bang covering the left side of his face. No doubt about it."**_

_** "Okay then, but didn't she say that he was traveling with someone?"**_

_** "Does it matter? The kid was only a teenager according to her. Besides, even if they're a ninja, Explosion Corps Jonin are no pushovers."**_

* * *

**Master Sasori Part 1**

"A drawing book?" Deidara stared at the front page of a black book with a yellow band attached to the back cover to hold it together. It was brand new. The cover had a blank white space that allowed him to write anything on it. The book was binded together in a traditional stitch. Flipping through, the pages were completely blank. He looked up at Sasori who had purchased the book for him.

"It's to keep you busy. Kids like to draw right?"

"Yeah."

The puppeteer looked back to the vendor, he wasn't inside Hiruko now. Looking over another section, he picked out a pencil and eraser that looked like it would last a long time along with a small sharpener. After buying them, he handed them to Deidara.

"Here."

"Thanks..." The boy murmured, looking elsewhere.

Sasori raised a brow. "What? You don't like to draw?"

"It's fun I guess."

"How's the mosquito bite?"

Deidara blinked, remembering the bite on his shoulder. It wasn't itching as much as he remembered anymore, just a small twinge but not too much. His pulled his hood off too get a better look at his shoulder, immediately regretting it as he tried to pull it back up, he glanced wearily of Sasori.

"It's fine, the hood can go while we're here."

Reassured, the boy dropped the hood and let it fall onto his back. He shivered when he felt the fabric brush against the bite. It began to itch more now, tempting him to scratch it.

"What about that itch cream?"

"I'll get some later."

Sasori thanked the shop owner and moved along the street, the child followed closely behind. Though the redhead didn't take much appreciation into his surroundings, Deidara felt he couldn't get enough of it. One moment, he was looking at a dog being walked by it's owner and the second, he just had to get a good look at the store they were passing that sold colorful paints in every color that Deidara could barely imagine. He heard some talking and turned his head back the other way, glancing at another shop that sold beautiful artwork, one that caught his eye was a painting of a rocky spiral mountain of strange geological form. He stopped for a second to have a better look, gazing down at the price, he furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief.

_200,000 ryo! That's as much a B-rank mission! _He exclaimed mentally, his mouth agape in shock at the price.

The puppeteer turned to Deidara, finding him in a locked stare with some painting in a shop nearby. He looked strangely at him.

"Hey, what're you looking at?" He asked.

"That picture's two-hundred thousand? Isn't that a lot?"

"Paintings always cost a lot. Come on." Sasori gestured for him to follow.

Deidara looked at Sasori, surprised to see his lack of reaction the hellishly high price of a picture. In fear of being left behind, he nodded and followed closely, coming to puppet master's side.

They came to a curtain area, this one was different from the other places, he could tell. The people who walked around seemed harder at work here, their faces were more serious and they carried around wooden objects. Some workmen were carrying large bags and other's carried several scrolls on their backs. Deidara gulped, feeling out of place he moved closer to Sasori.

"Hm?" Sasori grunted, gazing down at the child. Deidara was clinging closely to his arm, pulling at his sleeve.

Lifting an arm, he patted the child on the head, causing him to look up at him curiously. He smiled before continuing forward at a pace the kid could follow. They approached a shop that was packed with boards and logs of wood. The prices seemed to range from 5,000 ryo to 300,000 ryo. Looking into a corner, he could see a small stack that was priced at 500,000.

"Master Sasori! You haven't come to the shop in ages now!" A large buff man carrying a a large board greeted them. His face perked at the sight of his new visitors, dropping the wood with a loud clack on the floor. The bulky man walked out of the shop and put a hand to shield his face from the sun. "Where've you been?"

"It was only eight months, quit acting like it's been years."

"Oh it's been over half a year now." The man remarked.

"Got lonely at the shop? Keep looking for company 'cause I'm only gonna be around for a day or so." Sasori said unsympathetically. His eyes wandered, looking for anything new or worth his while. At the moment, nothing caught his eye.

"Aw. Don't get a lot of Masters these days. Only journeyman and they're work isn't a quarter good as yours." He pouted, picking up the wood and moving over to a work table near the front.

Deidara sniffed a little, the air seemed thicker with dust around here. The air smelt like burnt popcorn, or what he remembered of burnt popcorn smelling like. Looking closer he could see bits of wood dust floating casually in the air past his face and then out of sight. Breaths seemed heavier near this place, he had to make more effort into breathing. He wanted to ignore the small detail of the area but it was too hard to, he couldn't push the burnt popcorn thought out of his head.

Looking ahead, he could see the other had already started to wander the place, occasionally rummaging through some boxes and piles. Sasori seemed to be busy at work like this, and Deidara didn't want to disturb. Sighing, he walked inside and sat down on a wooden stool near a worktable. He minded himself with the tools, not knowing what they were he wasn't one to randomly pick things up. Getting comfortable despite the height of the stool, he tried to clear a bit of the table from the wood bits. Sweeping the table with his arms. He made a sound of surprise as a brush hit the table in front of him.

"Haha, don't sweep the table with your hands. You'll get splinters."

The child looked up to see the man from before grinning down at him. He chuckled at the boy's look.

"It's one of the rules to working in a wood shop. Never sweep with your hands...even with gloves on."

Taking the worker's advice, the blonde boy grabbed the brush and swept the table. Pushing the wooden bits into the garbage can at the end of the table he repeated the action of a couple of times until he was satisfied with the result, feeling the table with his fingers to determine how much debris was left on it. Handing the brush back to the man, he hopped off the table and picked up his new drawing book and other items. Dusting off the book before placing it on the table.

"So, you're with Master Sasori?" The man grabbed a stool and noisily dragged it over to the table to sit down next to Deidara.

"Uh-huh." _Again with that name. _

"Lucky."

Deidara raised a brow. "The people at the front said so too."

"The guards?"

"Yeah. Why do you call him _master_?" The boy asked as he flipped the book open, frustrated with the pages since they seemed stiff since they were brand new. He fiddled with the cover, trying to fold it into place.

"Well, why would you call anyone a master?"

"Teachers. I call one master." Deidara gazed up after finally padding down the first page, grabbing the pencil and sharpener.

"Uh, well, it's not like that exactly but we call him master because he's mastered his craft. You see, Sasori is Puppet Master, as well as a Master in woodwork."

"Okay, what's a _Journeyman_?"

"That's a worker who's reliable but not particularly note worthy. Here in this place, we have three ranks of workers. The majority are Journeymen, people who are somewhat good at what they do. The bottom rank are apprentices, people who train in a curtain craft. These apprentices then work under the instruction of a Master, the highest ranking worker in these parts. Masters are few in number, I wish I were in your place. I'd trade an arm and a leg to see Master Sasori's work up close." He laughed.

"I _am _in need of an arm and a leg, I'd appreciate the contribution. Daiku." Sasori tapped his chin thoughtfully, attracting the attention of both the boy and the worker. A curtain dark tone in his voice. His eyes rolled over to Daiku, a playful smirk crept on his face.

Daiku sweated. "No, no! I-I wasn't serious Master Sasori! It w-was just a figure of speech!" He flailed his arms, stuttering.

Deidara didn't catch the tone, simply staring at the worker with an innocent expression.

"I promise you'll definitely get a close up look. In fact, I gaurantee it. In exchange for your limbs of course." Sasori smiled, eyeing the man's left leg and right arm in interest.

He noticed as a bead of sweat trickle down the worker's temple. Deidara frowned, deciding to just brush it off and start drawing. He already knew what he wanted to draw. Starting with a curved line, he wanted to start with the beak.

"Come on! I said I wasn't serious!"

The redhead continued to smirk, fully aware of Daiku's fear. He spent a few moments in silence before closing his eyes and gave a fake happy expression at the two. Deidara of course, absorbed into his drawing, didn't notice.

"Ahaha, I was just toying with you." He chuckled lightly.

The worker exhaled loudly in relief, he wasn't aware he was holding his breath. Deidara looked at him, wondering why he had sighed so loudly.

Turning back to the pile of boxes, Sasori continued to rummage. He grunted in frustration as he couldn't find the label he was looking for on the boxes. _631...631..._He repeated the number in his head. He paused to read another label.

"Six three- no, that's not it." _631! Not 638! Dammit, why is it so messy in here? Couldn't Daiku have put them in neat numbered stacks? _Sasori ranted in his head while pushing another box out of the way into another box. Sasori blinked when he finally saw the code number at the very bottom of the pile.

"Found it."

"Found what?" Deidara asked.

Sasori pulled the box out of the pile, into an empty space into the light of the workshop. Bits of dust launched into the air as the box was moved, causing him to try fan away the dust with his hand.

"It's been over a year. Don't be surprised that it's collecting dust." Daiku mentioned, seeing the redhead's obvious annoyance with the dust cloud.

"You haven't even maintained it. This whole pile's collecting dust. When did you last clean this place out?" Sasori made a weak glare at the other.

The worker scratched the back of his head, thinking back into the year. "Geeze, I've been so busy with work I never really thought of it. I think it was...six months? I think."

"Clean it out today, no excuses." He ordered.

"Okay, okay."

Meanwhile, Deidara continued to sketch, he had already finished the bird but he wanted to make it look real. He had tried to draw the feathers but found it hard since the feathers looked stiff on the bird. They looked more like scales than feathers, and the lines were too thick and shaky. The feathers looked bad, but with some thought and carefulness, he tried to add shade, thinking it would fix the bird he had drawn. He flicked his wrist, trying to imitate an artist he had seen draw once. They made beautiful drawings, all of them were perfect and lifelike. All the details in the right place but his drawings? Well, he preferred to sculpt than draw. Drawing wasn't his forte but it was fun every now and then.

He was disturbed when he heard someone walked over to him. Pausing to gaze over to who it was. Sasori was standing behind him, a bit of his cloak was in the sunlight but everything from his hands up was shadowed. Nodding, Deidara closed his book and placed his pencil, eraser and sharpener on top neatly before hopping off the stool. Making his way deeper into the shop, he gave the Akatsuki member a questionable look.

"Help me carry these." Sasori said, immediately dropping some wood into Deidara's arms. The boy stumbled back before catching himself and steadying. He looked down to see 3 blocks of dark colored wood.

"Eh? Why do _I _have to carry them?" Deidara protested.

The redhead picked up the box after ripping off the label. "You wanted to come right? Make yourself useful and help out."

Deidara glared at Sasori, however weakly. The puppeteer raised a brow at him before continuing past the boy to the front of shop. Deidara huffed and arched his back, the wood was heavy, more of a reason he didn't want to drop it. He grit his teeth, glaring at the other with a face that was a mix between confusion and anger. Walking over to the table, he put down the wood and grabbed his things. Placing them on the wood and picked it all up at once. He gazed over, watching as Sasori paid Daiku for the wood. Handing over the ryo while holding the box with the other. It was obvious that he was holding the heavier load, but he looked completely fine. He wasn't even putting any energy into holding that box, and that thing looking one-third the size of Sasori. _How does he do that? Like he's not effected at all. This stuff is heavy and he's not even putting an effort into it!_

"The shop's been pretty empty recently. No one really stays long." He heard Daiku say at Sasori.

"Another reason to clean up. The mess is repelling customers. Do yourself a favor." He advised.

Daiku sighed, combing his finger through his short hair. "Fine."

The two nodded towards each other before the redhead stepped out of the shop with the box. Deidara followed hastily, trying to catch up until he had reached Sasori's side. As they walked, the people around them gave the two several expressions. Some expressions went from looks of admiration to looks of opposition. Sasori didn't seem bothered by this, rather he walked through with a straight face Deidara had no idea how he kept up all the time. Sure, he had some expression but they usually didn't stray far from his neutral look. It bothered Deidara, there was something unnatural about it. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Your face is weird."

"What?" Sasori glowered at the boy.

The child turned his head nonchalantly, shrugging off the glare. "Just saying. It is."

"What exactly makes my face _weird_?" The redhead tried to push an apology out Deidara.

"It's stiff."

"Stiff?" He repeated.

"Yeah, stiff."

"What do you mean by stiff?"

"Like it's made of rock or something."

"My _face _is not a _rock, _brat." Sasori growled at the boy who simply zoned out.

"Looks like it is." The blonde shrugged a second time.

Sasori stopped walking and twitched.

"Why you little..."


	10. Mutt

**Chapter 12**

_He's just gonna leave me out here? I thought he didn't trust me on my own..._

Deidara waited patiently outside the Blacksmith's shop. His head was propped up on his arm, a bored expression on his face. He was sitting on a pile of wood outside, his drawing book lay beside him, burning in the sun. Deidara gazed over boredly to the other side of the street, watching as a small skinny dog as it walked in the shadow of the buildings. The shadows were small at the moment, it was mid-day and the sun was directly above the village. It's warm rays shone upon the village. Though despite its efforts, it wasn't hot at all. A sunny day like this was rather rare now, especially since it was autumn. Normally it'd be cloudy, but they were lucky enough to see real daylight today, yesterday as well. The cold breeze still swept into the streets, usually blowing Deidara's long bang straight into his face, a cause for annoyance since he didn't want any hair to get into his mouth or eyes. However, Deidara wasn't to concerned with that right now, for his eyes were settled on the skinny puppy as it simply stopped walking and stood still for a moment. Deidara stared wide eyed, wondering what it would do, drop over dead? Run off?

The small grey puppy made a whining sound towards the boy, walking out of the shadows. Soon, it was at his feet, whining. It nudged his hand, gently mouthing it. Deidara frowned in annoyance, pulling it away from the dog. The dog backed up in surprise before it began to walk in circles, staring up at Deidara. It made another whining sound, this one was closer to a bark though, as if it were trying to bark but was too weak to do it.

"I don't have food, go away." Deidara muttered.

The puppy whined, moving itself into a sitting position in front of the sitting child. Its head was bowed in submission, large eyes bulged at him. It looked rather ashamed, desperate even. To a normal person, they'd probably smile and pet it, but the look was dead to Deidara. Deidara could care less if the dog was starving, as long as it wasn't him. Now that the pup was sitting still, the boy got a better look at it. It's large blue eyes were cloudy and slightly red, its grey fur coat looked unkept, matted.

"I said I don't have food. Go away." He muttered again, making the last part emphasized.

It didn't give up, rather it kept sitting there miserably. Deidara raised a brow at the small creature, wondering where it even came from and who would be so horrible as to throw the little thing out on the street. Well, people in this area of the village seemed more hardened anyway, he wouldn't be surprised if he discovered this dog came from an unwanted litter and was thrown out because there was no room. Soon, he was outright having a staring contest with the dog. The dog made its puppy eyes while Deidara glared hard, trying not be effected. He shifted uncomfortably on the wood pile.

_KLANG_

_ KLANG _

_ KLANG_

The puppy jumped in surprise, its floppy ears jumped at the sharp sound lifting a paw as if it were ready to run. Its tail was curled between its legs, ears now folded back while it's fur seemed to stand on end. Deidara lifted his head, turning towards the entrance to look inside. The Blacksmith's shop looked pretty big on the inside, there was a stove made out of brick in the middle of the shop. Blackened and burned gloves covered in soot were placed on a hanging rack near the entrance. Along the sides of the shop were long solid grey tables that rounded their way along the whole shop. Deidara watched as one worker used a flatter hammer to flatten a blade for what looked like a Katana. The part he was hitting glowed bright yellow, emitting heat. Every time the hammer struck, sparks would fly before disappearing into thin air. Moving his gaze across the room, he spied Sasori wearing a welding helmet, eyes peeking out through the square hole in the middle. He wore something different, instead of the cloak which was discarded on a rack in the entrance, he wore a dull green apron as well as a long-sleeved shirt and thick gloves. He was placing something round and circular into an oven using long tongs to hold it. Once placed inside the glowing box, he closed the hatch and tipped the welding helmet so his face would be visible. Noticing Deidara's stare, the two made eye contact for a split second before Deidara quickly looked away, trying to seem as if he wasn't even looking at him.

Sasori smirked at the boy before continuing to work on metal parts. His eyes showing an amused glint in them.

_Master huh? He doesn't look all that great...I mean, sure he has those puppet things. Yeah, they're pretty cool but, he's not a _Master _Master right? It's just!...well, if he were so great he wouldn't have left me out here to this thing. _Deidara ranted in his head, glaring at the puppy more menacingly than before.

_I could definitely just leave him. Besides, I know where the exit is this time and the walls aren't _that _high. I could stand up and...well- yeah. He hasn't even bought me that itch cream yet! Does he even care that this bump is gonna torture me? I could just run away, and I doubt I'll take as long as last time. The exit's just over there, I can do this. He doesn't even trust me to go see the ocean myself, what does he think I'll do? Jump in and start swimming? I can't swim! _

Deidara sighed, lifting his hand, he stared at it, his palm in particular. The cloth jerked and moved, small primal sounds could be heard muffled under the cloth of the glove. His eyes saddened. _If I'm serious about this...I can't hide them forever...How will he react? I don't wanna know..._

* * *

_"A drawing book?" Deidara stared at the front page of a black book with a yellow band attached to the back cover to hold it together. It was brand new. The cover had a blank white space that allowed him to write anything on it. The book was binded in a traditional stitch. Flipping through, the pages were completely blank. He looked up at Sasori who had purchased the book for him._

_"It's to keep you busy. Kids like to draw right?"_

* * *

_"Don't run. You'll fall and get hurt." Sasori warned sternly._

* * *

_ "That kid's...special."_

* * *

_"How's the mosquito bite?"_

* * *

_ "You know, talking about it can help."_

* * *

_ "Are you cold? Do you want some warm tea?"_

* * *

_"In fact..." He started, Deidara bit his lip, preparing for the scolding to come._

_ "YOU SHOULDN'T BE HANDLING SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS AT ALL!" Sasori stated sternly, glaring hard as the child winced._

* * *

His gloved hand balled up into a fist, his fist shaking slightly. Deidara bit his lip nervously. _Why does he even care? I barely know'em, and he knows next to nothing about me. _His hand sprawled out, stretching it as he placed his hand on his knee and tried to cool down. He didn't get this guy, why did he even save him? Why go through all the trouble of trying to find a place to care for him, feed him, give him some clothing and even make sure he doesn't get hurt? It's not his problem.

This was getting stressful, he was thinking too much about this. Like Sasori even said, they should be grateful that this village is a haven, so he should just be grateful he's not dead; or worse. His head turned up, gazing at the sky lazily. His hand slid from his knee to his side. Maybe he just needs to relax and dra-

...

"Huh?" Deidara blinked, moving his hand along the wooden boards. He could feel his pencil and eraser aswell as the sharpener...but...the book? The boy turned his head, turning to look for his drawing book. Surprisingly, it wasn't there.

"Arf!"

Deidara looked ahead, he stared wide eyed at the puppy just down the street. In its mouth, getting slobber all over the gift that Sasori had bought him. Anger began to boil within him, gritting his teeth.

Now the mutt had done it.

"Hey! Give that back!"

The chase was on.

* * *

Sasori head tilted up, gazing over his work to the door. He had just heard a voice outside, sounded a little like the boy's voice.

_ Was that?...No, Deidara's too cautious to talk to people he doesn't trust._

The smell of burnt metal threw the puppeteer out of his thoughts when he realized he had held the metal halfway out of the oven for too long. Now the bright glowing end inside the oven was beginning to liven and curl upwards, and Sasori didn't want that. Immediately pulling it outwards, almost dropping it as a swung downwards forcefully towards the floor. Held only by the tongs that barely did their job. He made an expression of relief.

_Deidara's probably fine._

* * *

"Dumb dog!" The boy yelled, running at full speed, arms behind him as he bound off towards the puppy. Eyes trained on the stray pup, he didn't notice when it suddenly ducked between the legs of another woodworker. Caught by surprise, it was too late when Deidara slammed hard into the person, causing him to drop all his wooden planks. Stumbling back he shook his head to rid of the daze before hastily looking everywhere to relocate the thief that stole his belongings.

"Hey!" The woodworker barked.

Deidara ignored the yell, already on pursuit of the grey puppy. Weaving in and out of the people walking casually on the street, plenty of attention was turned towards the boy. But Deidara didn't care, he had to get that drawing book back. It may not have been the most suitable gift to someone like himself but it was gift and the seven-year old wanted to keep it.

The blonde ran into plenty of people, crashing into wood piles as well as workers who simply wanted to get stuff done. Plenty of walls had met his face by now, that puppy was clever, but not clever enough.

_Ugh! I'm not getting anywhere! That dog just keeps getting farther and farther away! _Thinking quickly, he leapt onto a fence, gasping in surprise, arms flailing as he tried to get balance. The wooden fence was rather creaky and wobbly, but he'd manage somehow, he used to the stiff fences in Iwagakure, not these horrible excuses for barrier.

Finally gaining balance, Deidara tried tried to get a good look at his feet as he began to run along the fence, slipping would be bad right now, especially with the book at stake. It would be better up here, people don't run on roofs, he should have a clear path to follow from here.

Running after the puppy, Deidara kept a trained eye on it as he made his way on to rooftops of the shops and stores of the area. The puppy turned a corner, requiring Deidara to jump the street, easily making it to the other side with little effort. Giving a good look around, the child smirked. _Great! This street doesn't have any hiding places! I should be able to corner speed up without worrying about him ducking into anything._

In delight, he sped up gladly, feeling great as the wind blew into his bang, revealing his hidden eye. The world looked way more three-dimensional now, and heck lot easier to maneuver, but Deidara didn't need it usually. Catching up to the dog, Deidara easily out sprinted it. Getting a few meters on the dog, Deidara thought of it as an OK and jumped down, thinking that the chase would end and he return to waiting bored outside the Blacksmith's shop. He made a stance, ready to grab the pesky puppy when it came to him. But his efforts handed ended the chase yet.

Deidara froze as something grey flew past his face. Time stood still as the boy tried to figure out what was happening before the grey flash landed on the ground behind him and continued to run towards the entrance.

The boy's mouth went agape. _It jumped!?_

Left in the dust, Deidara glared hard at the puppy's backside. Turning to continue to chase to the end.

The puppy ran out of the entrance, catching the eye patch guard's attention as their head followed the motion of the canine out the entrance. In an equally surprised way, the guards watched as Deidara followed in suite at an even faster speed. The chase left a small dust cloud in the chased and chasers tracks, both guards tried to process what just happened.

"Hey..."

"What?"

"Wasn't that? That kid that Master Sasori was traveling with?"

"I think so."

* * *

Aware that he had just left the village, Deidara looked back, dreading the idea that when he'd return, Sasori would scold him for leaving again and they'd have another boring talk about the weather. Honestly, the child could care less about the weather, sun or rain, didn't make much of a difference to the kid.

The puppy turned to the forest away from the cliff side where the stairs were. Deidara noticed the puppy fatigue, slowing down as its pants began to become more ridged. He smiled, now eager to get his book back. He slowed down as well, now into a more jogging pace, ready to take the book when he needed to.

Approaching the shadow of the woods, Deidara noticed people stand in the edge of the dirt path, two shadowy figures. The dog bowed its head, laying the drawing book at the person's feet. The figure crossed its arms in a disappointed way. Deidara furrowed his eyebrows, now growing suspicious of the person in the woods. The figure chuckled lightly, letting his arms fall before stepping out into the open where the child could see.

He tensed.

"Deidara, it's so nice to see you again!"

* * *

**A/N: Hmm...what should I say in this Author's note? It's always an opportunity to write something in this section so I don't skip it often. Hmm, it's kinda pointless isn't it? Oh well, if you're reading this, you're wasting you're time. Anyway! Thank you for reading! Please Review if you'd like!**


	11. Master Sasori Part 2

**Master Sasori Part 2**

His blue eyes were set on the first figure who revealed himself. An adult no doubt. Both people showed themselves, both wearing the exact same outfit. Right arm was completely bare, showing off skin and muscle save for the black gloves worn on both hands. Unlike Deidara's own pair, they weren't fingerless, completely covering the entire hand. They wore a brown flak jacket that covered a dark red uniform underneath. Wearing red shinobi pants with fishnet socks and black sandals. He had forggoton all about the drawing book now, his life was far more important.

The first man made a lop-sided smirk, holding his arms out as if to embrace the child.

"Deidara, it's so nice to see you again!"

The blonde froze in place, eyes wide in shock as well as fear. He droned out the sounds of the world as he gazed upon the two with a terrified expression. _I-Iwagakure Ninja... T-They're actually here...they're gonna..._

He gulped hard, still staring at the two as if he had saw a ghost. _They're gonna..._

"Come on! Won't you even say anything? It's me! Jirou! You weren't gone for _that _long were ya? Forget about me already?"

Deidara snapped out of his thoughts, his face becoming more and more frightened looking. His foot slid back, he wanted to run, but where? Where would he go? These guys were much stronger than him...they'd catch up...no matter what.

"Don't act so afraid!" The other one spoke kindly. "Don't worry! You're not in trouble!"

"What?" The child gasped. "B-but I-I..."

The man calling himself 'Jirou' walked over to Deidara and squatted down to his height. A kind expression on his face as he stared into his blue eyes. The child flinched as the older man put a hand on his shoulder, pupils flashing to his hand in terror. The terror faded when he realized the hand was gloved, he was safe for now, as long as those gloves didn't come off.

"We were lookin' all over for ya kid! We missed you!"

Deidara blinked in disbelief. _M-missed me? They missed me? But..._

"Look..." The other Iwagakure Ninja scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "We're sorry about last time. You went through a lot, even Lord Tsuchikage knows that."

A memory flashed in the boy's mind, a memory of an old man with a triangular beard and short stature. A big red nose and thick white eyebrows. Though he was bald on the top of his head, the rest was in a white traditional Chonmage haircut tied in a yellow ribbon. Wearing a green and yellow coat with a red collar. Signifying his high rank and status. He felt his heart sink at the thought, but at the same time, build up a little anger. He shivered slightly at the memory.

"M-master?" Deidara's eyes welled up in tears. His face scrunched up at the title of his master, his teacher.

"That's right! He reconsidered!" The Iwa Ninja perked, giving the boy a confident smirk. "He regrets doing all that to you when you just wanted to impress. So he's gonna cut you a break and let come back home! How's that for an apology eh?" Jirou chuckled, patting the young boy on the back.

Deidara felt sad, but happy at the same time. So happy in fact, that he thought he was gonna cry. His head was bowed down towards the dirt, tears of joy fell and soaked up in the path. All this time, all this time he had been running, worrying, but everything worked out in the end. He was so scared that things wouldn't go back to normal, that he'd become a wanderer. But everything worked out. He was wrong, there wasn't a problem at all, nothing had to be fixed, it fixed itself. He thought it couldn't be fixed, and that he really did have to roam around for the rest of his life. But them...they...

"Lord Tsuchikage had a talk with the village elders about it. It took a while but most of everyone agreed in the end, you can come home!"

"W-what about my f-friends?" Deidara strained the words through his sniffles, now furiously wiping his eyes from the tears that constantly dripped from his face.

"Friends?"

"A-Akatsuchi, and...K-Kuro...tsuchi."

"Honorable Granddaughter?"

"Are they-they okay? T-they looked kinda s-scared l-last last time." The very thought of it pained Deidara, but he had to know. How were they doing? Were they okay? Even after all that, all that stupid stuff he did, were they even still his friends?

"Of course she's okay! You're friends should be fine! Nobody got brought in after you left." Jirou reassured him.

Deidara's head lifted, though he was a little messed up from the tears and some of his blond bangs stuck to his face. His cheeks were moist but he was happy, happy to hear it. Guess it wasn't necessary to ask Sasori after all.

Sasori.

"Alright! Let's get you home!" Jirou announced as he sprang up, nodding at his partner.

"Wait."

Both heads turned to the boy in surprise, wondering why he had spoken the word. Deidara had a concerned look in his eye, glancing back to Sumi Village just down the road. Mouth in a straight line.

"I have to say goodbye first."

Both ninja raised a brow at the child.

"Goodbye? To who?"

Deidara turned to the two happily, glad to be able to talk about Sasori. Though he hadn't liked him too much, now that he realized their time was so short, he felt a little sad to have to leave him. The redhead had put up well with his antics and was even scolded him when he was about to hurt himself. Looked for him when he had gotton lost. It would be wrong to just straight out abandon Sasori, after all he did. Deidara still even now didn't get why he did all these things, but he wanted to say it.

"There was this really nice guy I met named Sasori!"

"He helped me after I left and fed me and everything! Though I ran away at first, he looked for me and made sure I was okay. He took me to this village to get supplies for his puppets because he's a puppet master!"

Deidara spread is his arms out to show of the cloak. "He even gave me this! Though it's a little itchy, it's warm 'cause it's fall! I have to say goodbye or he'll get all worried. And he'll probably yell at me again but as long as I'm okay, he'll be okay too!" The boy rushed his words, slurring them a little.

Both shinobi were disturbed and excited by the child's talk. Turning to each other and smirked. Deidara made a sound of confusion, wondering what made them so happy. Deciding himself, he turned around and was about to return the way he came until he was suddenly grabbed by the arm roughly. He squeaked, pausing in his tracks.

"Don't go. You see, we know Sasori. He's not a good man."

Deidara blinked at Jirou who had a serious expression on his face. Turning to him, the shinobi let go and stood tensely beside the other ninja.

"What do you mean? Sasori's nice."

"He only _seems _nice." The other unnamed shinobi spoke in a dead serious voice.

"You guys know Sasori? Are you his friends?"

"Just the opposite." Jirou interrupted. "Sasori is our enemy, and an enemy to the Five Great Nations as we know it. He's a danger to everyone, our village included."

_An enemy? Sasori? But he..._ Deidara thought. _He's a danger to our village? But why? What did he do?_

* * *

_"I don't live in the desert anymore." He answered simply, but the boy was already on whole other topic._

* * *

_ "I can't go back to my village either."_

_ The blonde cocked his head. "Why?"_

_ "I have my reasons, but ever since I've been on my own...and you will too now that you say your village won't accept you anymore. You'll be hunted and killed if the tracker ninja ever get the chance."_

* * *

Deidara's eyes loomed onto the ground, he felt conflicted now. Sasori had already mentioned things to him...that he couldn't return to his Village. _He said he had his reasons...but not the village's...so was it _his _decision to leave? If so...does that mean Sasori..._

* * *

_"I see, it's always sunny in Sunagakure too."_

_"Suna...gakure?"_

_ "My home village, I was born in Sunagakure. Sunagakure resides in the land of wind. It's all desert for miles back there."_

* * *

_The way he talked about it though...it didn't sound like he hated his Village..._Deidara thought. Sasori, he seemed so kind, but these guys from home, they said he wasn't. Who would he believe?

"Sasori is part of an evil Organization called the Akatsuki. Most likely he'd have brought you somewhere once you were strong enough and turned you into one of his puppets."

"Turn me into...a puppet?!" Deidara' repeated slowly, processing the piece of information in his mind. It confused him, baffled him that the somewhat kind redhead would do such a thing. No way, he wouldn't have, he cared him, fed him even.

"It's the reality of it kid, accept it. That Sasori guy is bad news, good thing we got you to come to us before he could do anything." Jirou spoke in a relieved tone, sighing to add to the effect.

"But he...why did he do all this for me then?"

The two shinobi were silent, only the sound of nature could be heard around them. The puppy that stood by the other shinobi's side whimpered and dipped it's head above the drawing book laying on the ground.

"To make it convincing. For people like him, it's all worth it to make you feel like you're cared for. Then, when you're not looking-"

_SHING_

Deidara stumbled back as a kunai was drawn close to his face. Fear written all over his expression as he stared at the black knife it's sharpness gleamed in the sun. He felt a bead of sweat roll down his face. His heart beat fast, for second he thought he was gonna die.

"He either knocks you out or stabs you in the back. Then you wake up paralyzed while he's tearing you open. No pain killers." Jirou slowly drew back the kunai, twirling it in his hand before sliding it back into the weapon pouch. He held back a laugh, definitely getting a kick out of scaring the kid. He grinned sadistically.

"After that! Game over! Dead! Gone! No help possible! It's a good thing you didn't go tell him you were leaving, he'd have knocked you out right then and there and started the process of puppet-fication early. That's what he does you see. That's why he's so dangerous." He ended it off on a serious note.

The blonde child gulped, afraid. Would Sasori really have done that? Maybe it _was _best not to take the chance...he _did _work with puppets. He worked with human-like puppets and he no longer lived in his village. It made sense, a lot of sense. Deidara didn't like the sense it made. He began to shake his head, eyes losing their focus on anything as his emotions took over.

_Sasori._

_ Would he? Would Sasori?_

"No, he wouldn't do that..." He spoke under his breath, heart rate going up as he thought about it. What Sasori had done for him. He wouldn't...

"Look Deidara, it's sad but it's the reality. Just be glad you're safe from that psychopath. Now, come on, we gotta go before he realizes you're gone." Jirou gestured with his gloved hand to follow as he turned around towards the forest.

The child nodded, following in slow timid steps after the two Jonin from his village. Jirou jumped into the trees, Deidara followed in suite, eager to return home. However still conflicted about leaving Sasori. The surrounding trees engulfed the trio into the shadows, just enough light made it through the brush that they could see. Deidara's hair flew behind him as he leapt from branch to branch, thinking of that home. That home he wanted to go back to.

_Meanwhile_

At the clearing outside the village where Deidara and the Jonin previously stood, the ground began to move. It turned green and grew out, a giant venus flytrap. Zetsu opened his two halves, revealing his shadowed face from the inside.

"**He left. **_Tsk, tsk, tsk, Sasori wasn't paying attention again. _**He tends to do that when he's working. **_I know...should we tell him? _**No, let's just watch. Leader's orders, we are not to interfere.**" An grin crept on Jozetsu's face in anticipation. "_Yes, let us._"

* * *

**A/N: Yes, Jirou _is _an OC but I don't even know what he's supposed to look like so he's not gonna be very important anyway. Just imagine your generic Iwagakure Ninja as him and a more chubby dude as the other guy.**

**As a reminder: Jozetsu = White, Dokuzetsu = Black (I get confused every now and then myself, but I'm gonna keep it this way anyway.)**

**Please review if you'd like!**


	12. Trickery

**Trickery**

The puppy whined, bounding through the forest after the three ninja. He paused for a few seconds, sniffing the ground to relocate their scent. The puppy felt tired, it's aching body had seen better days, days when the canine didn't need to worry too much about food or shelter.

Suddenly, a figure appeared before it. The puppy didn't need to see him to recognize who it was. It was that ninja, he could tell by scent.

The shinobi smiled gently.

"Almost forgot about you, sorry."

The dog sat obediently, looking up at the shinobi with a unbreakable stare. It made another whining sound as the shinobi kneeled down and took off his glove.

"You helped us a lot, getting that brat to come to us."

A hand came down on the puppy's forehead, rubbing and patting him gently. The puppy tapped his foot in happiness, nuzzling into the ninja's hand. Not realizing as chakra was being channeled into its tiny body.

"You suffered a lot, you're so skinny after all. Guess it's time to return the favor." The Iwagakure ninja's gentle smile suddenly transformed into a sinister grin.

"Now, let's put you out of your misery."

"Arf?-"

_SPLAT_

* * *

_CRACK_

"Hm?"

Sasori raised a brow at the blade he was about to grab. The man had made many blades before for his puppets. He had many years of experience with these things, making a melee weapon like such was easy. Each blade was tempered and sharpened to perfection, carefully crafted to cut up enemies like butter.

But not in any of those years has a blade been cracked so spontaneously. Just like that, without any warning, a large fissure ran it's way through the length of the cold steel.

_A crack like that? That's a pretty big one._

Lifting the tempered metal into his line of sight, he examined the fissure. It looked dry, but he hadn't done anything to cause it. Not that he thought so either. He had taken care of the blade accordingly. This one was definitely not neglected among the many he had made, after all, this one was summoned along with his puppet into the shop. He hadn't forgotten about it.

_This blade was perfect. Not a single scratch on it. It's actually brand new, the last time I used it, it worked fine. I didn't break. _Sasori picked up the blade, examining it. _This was the fourth blade and last blade I added to the puppet originally._

_I don't normally believe in omens, but this is definitely strange...I should go check on Deidara._

Immediately, Sasori put the broken blade away. Turning his head hastily towards the entrance, his mouth drawn in a straight line. He had a bad feeling about this, a _very _bad feeling.

* * *

Jirou grinned, spying his partner return to the two out of the brush. The two exchanged glances, the other nodded. In return, Jirou grinned wider and nodded as well.

Watching the two, Deidara blinked. What were they doing?

"Sorry I had to leave Deidara. Got back anyway though!" The unnamed shinobi informed the child.

"You left?" He questioned.

"You didn't notice? Oh, well, I guess I didn't have to say so."

"What did you do?"

"This guy here just had to deal with some business back there. You know, covering up tracks so that killer can't find us." The Iwagakure ninja explained.

_Killer? But his name is Sasori. Not killer. _Deidara thought, a slight bit of anger bubbling up inside him. Normally he'd correct the man, but he knew better than to do that. Deciding against it, Deidara kept his mouth shut.

* * *

"Deidara? That's that kid's name?" Daiku stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Isn't that a boy's name?"

"Deidara _is _a boy." Sasori groaned. He didn't want to be correcting people on their thoughts of the child right now. He just wanted to know where the kid was. When he looked out of the Blacksmith's shop, the brat was nowhere to be seen. He had looked everywhere, he had already gone out to the docks to see if Deidara had decided enough was enough and went out on his own. The idea wasn't far fetched really, knowing that kid.

"What did he looked like again..." The worker pondered the thought out loud.

The puppeteer frowned in annoyance, this was going slowly. Too slowly for comfort. "How can you forget what he looks like. You just met him today!" Sasori snapped.

"Sorry, I meet a lot of people in a day. Children too."

"He's blonde, that should ring a bell right?"

"Yeah, I know he's blonde."

"A blonde kid you say?" A passing carver currently in the shop spoke to the two.

The man was also bulky. Sasori knew this man, he was a carver of wooden figures. Though they didn't know each other very well.

"Yes. I'm looking for him. You've seen him?"

"Hell yeah I've seen'em. I was just tryin' to take my supplies to the docks for a boat in need of repair. That's when some cat, or dog or something ran by and so did the kid. Knocked me over that little brat. Gotta admit though, I'm surprise he didn't fall over as well. Pretty strong."

"Do you know where he was heading?"

"I'm only gonna strain my brain 'cause you're a master. For any other person, I'd brush it off then and there. But he looked like he was headin' for the entrance."

_The entrance? _He didn't give two shits about why the man was telling him this. Heck, if he were in any worse a mood he would have told the man to shut up about who he was and just answer the damn question by now. "Why the entrance? Was he following something?"

"Looked like it. Some small critter of some sorts. Wait, now that I think about it, he said something before he ran me over. Something about some 'dumb dog'. I think it was a dog, or a puppy." The passing worker pulled out a carving knife and began to work his craft, talking as he did so. Eyes never leaving the piece.

"Looked like he was in a hurry."

"I see." Sasori narrowed his eyes. Then giving the two a bow of gratitude. "Thank you. I have to leave now." Lifting his head, the puppeteer steered himself down the street towards the entrance. His pace sped up, fast walking towards the gate. _A dog? A summoning animal? No, maybe it was just a regular dog. Probably, but it isn't beyond any ninja to not try and lure a kid out with a puppy. Especially a brat like that. He may be cautious but he's still reckless when his emotions take over. I don't know how much but that kid's definitely got a price on his head now. I warned him about Hunter nin, but I doubt he actually knows what they are._

_ I need to find him quickly._

* * *

"Hurry up." Jirou muttered loudly enough for the child behind him to hear. A cold edge to his voice.

Deidara made a confused sound, wondering what might have made the Shinobi nervous. He could ask, but decided against it. He looked around wearily, was something following them? He couldn't see much. Even if something _was _following them in pursuit, he wouldn't be able to spy them out so easily in this thick cover of leaves. Deidara's heart started to race, he hadn't yet learned how to sense Chakra presences. Usually only high level genin and up knew how to do that, currently, Deidara wasn't at all experienced with such things. The lack of awareness, the very thought that they could be attacked. The boy gulped and tried to ignore that thought.

_Rogue ninja? Or even...no, he wouldn't do that. I know what these guys said about him earlier but...I just can't bring myself to completely believe it. I guess I'll just listen for now._

Putting more effort into his bound, the child caught up within a couple meters of the Iwagakure Jonin.

They traveled in silence, neither talking to the other. Deidara stared at the back of Jirou's head. What was he thinking right now? Was he thinking about an enemy? Or was he thinking about the route they were on? What do ninja think about?

Deidara blinked, spying something below them. It shimmered in the sunlight, something thin and stringy looking. Almost metallic as he could only see it for a second before quite a few washed into sight. His hands to began to jerk a little. Something under his gloves started to freak out, tearing and biting at the cloth. Deidara glanced at his hands. Alarmed.

"_What? What's wrong_?" He whispered as for the other shinobi not to hear.

_POOF_

"Aah!" Deidara shrieked as his vision was suddenly clouded in a white smoke. His arms came up to shield his head. Stumbling back on the branch he had landed on previously. He stumbled back along the length of the thick branch, trying to take himself out of the daze.

Frantically, he opened his eyes, still panicked as he could barely see a few inches away from his face. Backing up even more, he felt his leg trip something. Something thin and sharp.

_Wires?!_

The sound of tension wires sounded in the forest. Cloth ripping against thread, the muffled shrieks of a child could be heard at a close proximity. Birds nearby began to flap their wings and flee loudly. Retreating to the air to escape the smoke and what they percieved as danger. Jirou smiled as he paused on a branch, looking back on his work. The other ninja joined him, both wearing satisfied smirks as they stood up on the same branch, gazing up into the dark leaves above at their catch.

"Hah! That was easy!" The unnamed shinobi laughed. Turning to his partner.

"Definitely! I knew it couldn't be true when I heard a brat like you wiped out an entire pursuit division. If you did, than you would've easily been able to spy out the trap we had laid." Jirou spoke loudly and confidently at the netted prey they had caught.

"And now that you're caught, the price on your head'll be worth more than any salary. The village will thank us for capturing a traitor."

Jirou agreed before jumped up to the net, ready to go retrieve his catch. Finding the right wire hidden in the shadow of a tree, he kneeled down. Reaching into his weapon's pouch, a kunai was drawn. Spinning on his finger before he caught it with his palm. Easily snapping the wire with his kunai.

The cut wire quickly released tension and dropped the net. Causing it and the thing inside to fall towards the ground with a loud thump.

"We even got some intelligence on the location of one of the Akatsuki members." The nameless shinobi reminded Jirou as both jumped and landed on the dirt floor of the forest.

"Even more of a reason for Lord Tsuchikage to praise us."

"I can't wait!" The Iwa nin clapped happily.

"The project may have failed but-" Jirou kneeled down and stared at the dark red cloak flopped on the ground. "-We can always salvage the spoils." He grinned as he grabbed the cloak roughly.

Jirou's eyes widened slightly, catching the other's attention. Immediately, he tore off the cloak to reveal a wooden log beneath.

"Substitution?!" Both gasped simultaneously.

"Damn!" The Iwa nin whipped his ahead in all directions. "Where'd that damn brat go?!"

* * *

_I couldn't use a clay substitution. I don't have any at the moment. _Deidara thought hastily as he bounded towards Sumi village at his top speed. His eyes wide in fear as he realized what misfortune had befallen him. Those Iwagakure ninja weren't friendly. _And even if I did have clay, I'm still working on it. I barely make a clay clone. I have to get back and tell Sasori! I can't fight them on my own, they're too strong! _Deidara winced as he landed on another branch, stumbling forward slightly. His leg was cut from the wire he tripped over. Movement wasn't as easy as before, with every bound and jump, his leg stung with a searing pain. _It's not much, I've suffered worse! _He tried to remind himself. _Just a small cut Deidara, it's just a small cut!_

_Did they follow me yet? _The child landed on the ground, hiding himself in a bush. Now wearing the clothing he had since he had met Sasori. The green robe he had worn since that day. Keeping a keen eye, he focused on sound and listened for his persuers. Reducing his movement among the bushes to hear for any sounds.

...

...

_They're not following. Good. _Deidara jumped out of the bushes and onto a high branch. Making his way back the way they came. He wasn't all that familiar with this forest, but he could definitely just follow the tracks they had left. They were faint every time he'd glance at them, that ninja did a good job of covering tracks.

Looking ahead, Deidara saw something red on a tree. The child stopped, and went down to investigate. Once he was upon the scene, his face paled and his eyes grew wide. His breath hitched and his body shivered.

It was a dark scene. Blood was splattered everywhere, still red and dripping from the closer leaves now soaked in crimson. Tiny organs and entrails were left on ground, torn apart as if the being itself and been blown to bits.

"W-what happened here?" He stuttered to himself.

Willing himself to continue to investigate, Deidara moved towards the corpse. Recognizing bits of bone drenched in blood all over the scene. Something that looked like a rib poked out from the dirt, something black and squishy looking still clung to it's pure white color. The stench of it all, it smelt like iron and sewage or waste. It smelt foul, causing Deidara scrunch up his nose in disgust.

Examining further, Deidara noticed bits of grey fur still not dyed red everywhere. They were hard to distinguish at first but it was easier once he had seen it.

* * *

_It's large blue eyes were cloudy and slightly red, its grey fur coat looked unkept, matted._

* * *

He knew what this was. That puppy, that poor dumb mutt had gotten himself killed. And Deidara knew exactly who was capable of such a thing. He gulped and stepped back, wanting to get away from the scene.

_Those guys...they're serious..._

* * *

**A/N: Well, it was _almost _three-thousand words to this chapter. Got close but I thought it was appropriate to end things off here and see what you guys think before I continue. Anyways, I got a Tobi-mask! Yeah! Tobito's mask is mine now! I feel so awesome. Yes, Tobito. Tobi and Obito together in one name to refer to both 'cause it sounds pretty cool and I can get used to that. Anyone wonder where he gets those masks? I mean, is there a store somewhere that sells masks exclusively to Tobito with one eye hole? Does he randomly walk into some store and ask "Do you have any mysterious looking masks that only have one eye-hole and looks like my Ocular-Jutsu?". I mean, really. Either there's a store out there or Tobito's got a hobby. **

**Well, nice meeting you guys! Please review if you'd like! Constructive criticism will be appreciated.**


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